Harry Potter and the Death Eaters
by Padfoot79
Summary: *complete* Harry's 6th year at school brings more adventures and surprises. Oh and a new DADA professor of course! Read OoTP before reading this as it contains spoilers. I rated it Pg-13 because it's got occasional swearing in it but not too bad.
1. Chapter 1

Harry was sprawled on his bed when he heard the doorbell ring. His black hair was even more messy than usual, as he hadn't even attempted to brush it for days now. He had been back at number 4 Privet Drive for just over 3 weeks. So far it hadn't been too bad. Moody and Lupin's warnings to the Dursley's seemed to have improved things, for now at least. Ok, so they weren't being nice to him but they weren't being too horrible either.   
  
Harry ignored the doorbell and looked back at his photograph album, staring at the picture of Sirius waving back to him. His green eyes filled up and a tear ran down his cheek. He could hear voices from downstairs but ignored them, it wasn't like anyone would be coming to see him. Even if they did, he didn't expect anyone he knew to ring the doorbell.  
  
Vernon Dursley hauled himself out of his armchair to answer the door, he was already annoyed that who ever it was had disturbed him from watching his favourite TV program. It had better not be some idiot collecting for some pointless charity. On opening the door he found an attractive, smartly dressed woman standing staring at him.   
  
"Mr Dursley" she said "I need to speak to you about your nephew. May I come in?"  
  
"What has he done this time?" He demanded  
  
"I would prefer if we could discuss it inside, unless of course you'd prefer your neighbours to hear what I have to say"  
  
Vernon showed the woman into the living room and thundered up the stairs to Harry's room.  
  
Harry heard footsteps on the stairs and immediately he had closed the photo album and pushed it under the pillow. He had just brushed the tear from his face when his Uncle came crashing through the door.  
  
"Get downstairs now!" Uncle Vernon bellowed "I don't care what those freaks warned me. If you've been up to something…" Harry racked his brain to try and figure out what he might have done. He couldn't think of anything, he'd hardly left the house since he got back. Harry followed Uncle Vernon down to the living room. He studied the woman standing there. She was wearing smart black trousers and a white T-shirt. Her ling dark hair was tied back and her hazel eyes lit up when she saw Harry.  
  
"So tell us then, what has he's been up to?" Uncle Vernon demandded  
  
"Maybe I should introduce myself first." The woman replied "I'm Talitha McKenzie, Albus Dumbledore sent me."  
  
"Dumbledore sent you?" Harry interrupted  
  
"You're a … You're…one of them. But you don't look like one" stuttered Uncle Vernon, astonished that a witch had knocked on his door and had not entered his house through the fire or the window or appeared out of no where.  
  
"But you look like…" He continued  
  
"A muggle? Yes I know. It's a bit easier to blend in" she replied laughing "We aren't all as barmy as Arthur Weasley and Alastor Moody you know"  
  
"Why did Dumbledore send you?" Harry asked keenly.  
  
"Something's come up Harry. I've come to take you somewhere. Can't tell you where I'm afraid. Dumbledore told me to get you there straight away" Uncle Vernon was silent, still in shock that he'd met one of those 'freaks', as he liked to call them, who looked normal "Is you're wife here Mr Dursley?"  
  
"No, she and my son are out for the day"  
  
"I'm afraid we haven't got time to stay and wait for her to come back. There's a note here explaining everything. I'll leave it with you" She turned to Harry "Well you'd best pack your things as quick as possible, we have to get going"  
  
Harry raced up to his room. He was getting away from the Dursley's! However as he reached his room, a thought hit him. How did he know who she was? She could be anybody. She could even be a Death Eater.  
  
"I've come to help you pack Harry" a voice said behind him. He turned and looked at her. She didn't look like a Death Eater but that didn't mean anything.  
  
"How do I know Dumbledore sent you? Why didn't he send an Owl first so I knew someone was coming? Why didn't someone who I knew come for me?" Harry asked quickly not stopping between questions to allow her to answer.  
  
"You've a quick brain Harry. That's good, you're right you should never trust anyone. Constant Vigilance as Moody would say. Now let me think, how can I prove to you that Dumbledore sent me?" She stood thinking for a moment "I told them this would happen" She said to herself "I knew Remus should have come"  
  
"Remus?" Harry asked "as in Lupin"  
  
"Yeah, it was his job to fetch you when Dumbledore told us it was necessary but as always, things didn't go to plan" She replied. Harry looked puzzled   
  
"Full moon" she explain  
  
"Ok, I'm starting to believe you now but…" Harry was stopped short by a car horn outside in the street. Talitha glanced out of the window.  
  
"Well I think that will convince you, our transport has arrived" she beckoned Harry to look out of the window. "I believe you know Dung"  
  
Harry looked down and saw Mundungus Fletcher sitting in beaten up old car waving up at him.  
  
A few minutes later an astounded Vernon Dudley watched Harry's levitating trunk float down the stairs.  
  
"I'll just get Dung to come and fetch it" Talitha said "we don't want the muggles seeing your trunk like this now do we"  
  
"It's ok, I can manage" said Harry, quickly. Uncle Vernon had just possibly been convinced that not all magical people were insane, meeting Mundungus Fletcher was not going to reinforce this at all.  
  
"Best get going then" Talitha stated  
  
"Bye then Uncle Vernon" Uncle Vernon grunted and returned to his armchair.  
  
Once the trunk and its three passengers were safely in the car, they set off.  
  
"Why are we going by car?" Harry asked  
  
"It's the only way really" Talitha answered "we can't really fly in day light and there wasn't enough time to arrange a port key or to link the Dursleys up to the floo network"  
  
"Why was all this arranged in such a rush?"  
  
"I'll explain when we get there."  
  
"When we get where?"  
  
"You'll see, it's not too far I don't think." Talitha told him "Dung, you do know the way don't you?" 


	2. Chapter 2

An hour or so later they pulled up on a street full of old Victorian houses.   
  
"Dung, bring Harry's trunk in will you?" Talitha called. She opened the door to number 34 and then put her arm round Harry's shoulder.  
  
"This is where you'll be staying for the next few weeks, Harry" She turned round and saw Dung struggling to open the car to get Harry's trunk out "Go inside Harry. I'll just give Dung a hand" Harry was half way through the door when she pulled him back "but whatever you do, do not go upstairs"   
  
Inside, Harry looked around, it seemed just like a normal house. He went into the living room. There were a few objects lying around that gave it away that it wasn't a muggle house, titles of the books on the shelf and so on but generally just normal. Harry wondered what could be upstairs that made it so he wasn't to go up there.  
  
"Dung you can be such an idiot sometimes you know" Talitha laughed outside in the hall "You didn't need to hex the car because it wouldn't open. You only needed the key"  
  
"Bloody stupid if you ask me" Dung muttered. They both came into the living room.  
  
"Sit down then Harry, make yourself at home." Talitha told him. Harry sat on the sofa "Do you want a drink? Butterbeer?" Harry nodded "Dung, are you staying?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll stay a bit. Gotta go an' see a man about some brooms in a bit though, might have a deal for me" Dung wandered into what Harry assumed to be the kitchen and came back with 3 Butterbeers.  
  
"Is this you're house then?" Harry asked Talitha  
  
"No. I'm staying here for a while but it isn't mine. Far too tidy for my liking" she laughed.  
  
"Whose house is it then?"  
  
"It's Remus'" said Dung. Harry's face beamed at the thought of seeing Remus Lupin again.  
  
"Is he here? Can I see him?"  
  
"No, not today. I told you. It's full moon tonight. That's why you aren't to go upstairs" Talitha explained  
  
"He's upstairs?" Harry asked cautiously.  
  
"Yeah, so when you hear loadsa bangin' and howlin' in the night it's just Mooney" Dung told him.  
  
"Dung! Shut up!" Talitha interrupted "Don't worry Harry he's just winding you up. Remus has been taking the Wolfsbane potion so he'll mostly just sleep through it. Staying down here is just a precaution, it's just best not to disturb him that's all. Seeing him like that will probably scare you more than anything"  
  
"Oh ok..." muttered Harry  
  
"He'll be fine. Don't worry. You'll see him tomorrow"  
  
"So why am I here? I thought Dumbledore said I was safest at the Dursleys" Harry inquired  
  
"From Voldemort you are" Talitha told him. Harry was surprised that she said his name and not You-know-who "but some of the Death Eaters have escaped Azkaban again and you aren't really protected from them at Privet Drive. We don't know if they are going to come after you but we don't want to take any chances"  
  
"I can't see your Uncle being much use in fightin' off Death Eaters" Dung laughed.  
  
"So we had to find the safest place we could for you" Talitha continued ignoring Dung's comment.  
  
"It was either here or with Mad-eye" said Dung laughing again. This time Talitha laughed  
  
"As wonderful as Alastor is, I think it would be unfair to ask anyone to live with him" she chuckled. Harry laughed as well.  
  
Suddenly there was a loud bang upstairs which made them all jump. Talitha stood up quickly.  
  
"I better go and check …" she said as she left the room  
  
"But isn't…" Harry started  
  
"It's ok 'Arry." Dung said "Tali can handle him alright"  
  
A few minutes later Talitha came back in the room   
  
"Everything's fine" she told them.  
  
"Well, I better be off, deals to make an' all that" Dung told them as he stood up "See you later 'Arry"  
  
Crack. He disappeared.  
  
"Yeah, we'll see him about breakfast time I would imagine, unless someone else feeds him" Talitha said with a chuckle. She took the empty Butterbeer bottles back into the kitchen. When she returned Harry yawned.  
  
"I've made you a bed up in the study for tonight" Talitha told him "I'll show you your room tomorrow. Feel free to go to bed when you like"  
  
"I think I'll go now if you don't mind" Harry answered. Talitha nodded  
  
"It's the door straight across the hall. If you want a drink or anything in the night just help yourself"  
  
"Ok, night then."  
  
The next morning Harry woke up to the smell of Bacon cooking. He hadn't expected to sleep at all last night but he had dozed off almost straight away. He pulled on his clothes and went through to the kitchen.  
  
"Morning" he said sleepily as he sat at the table.  
  
"Mornin'" said Dung, sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet.  
  
"Sleep well?" asked Talitha putting a plate full down in front of him. Today she less like a muggle as she was wearing deep scarlet witches robes.  
  
"Yeah, it's the best night sleep I've had since…well you know". Dung glanced up but decided not to say anything. Talitha put her hand on his arm  
  
"It'll get better" she told him. They were all silent for a few minutes. Dung reading the paper, Harry and Talitha thinking.  
  
"Don't suppose you need a new wand do you 'Arry? Got some going cheap if you want to have a look?"  
  
"Dung, shut up about those wands, nobody in their right mind would buy a wand from you. God only knows where they came from." Talitha said as an Owl flew through the window. She took the letter from its leg and after reading the front of it passed it to Dung.  
  
"Gotta go" he said after he read it.  
  
Crack  
  
"Bye then" said Talitha with a small laugh, after he disappeared. Talitha stood up and fetched a bag from the living room.  
  
"Harry, I've got to go out for a short while as well. I'm really sorry, I didn't want to leave you alone today but it's really important" She said "Remus won't be down for a few hours yet but he might be moving about a bit so don't worry if you hear some noise. I've left him a note to say where I've gone. Make sure you stay down here though unless … you know. I'll see you later"   
  
Crack  
  
Harry was unsure how he felt about being left alone in the house with a werewolf. "I'm glad this is the safest place for me, I'd hate to be anywhere dangerous" he muttered to himself.  
  
"Alright Harry" a voice said. Harry looked around the room quickly to try and see who had spoken to him but no one was there.  
  
"Down Here!"   
  
Harry glanced down towards where the voice was coming from and saw a face in the fireplace.  
  
"Ron! You scared the life out of me!" Harry said. Ron laughed  
  
"Just thought I'd say hello. I'll have to be quick though, mum doesn't know I am. What are you doing there then?"  
  
"Not sure really. Dumbledore's orders apparently. How did you know where I was I was?"  
  
"Oh dad told me. Said you'd gone to stay at Lupins. Is he there?"  
  
"No, he's upstairs. Full moon" Harry tried to say matter of factly  
  
"Bloody Hell" said Ron. Harry heard another voice from the fire place say 'who are you talking to Ron' and Ron's face disappeared. A few seconds later another face appeared  
  
"Hi Harry"  
  
"Hi Ginny"  
  
"How are you? are you ok?"  
  
"Yeah fine" Harry replied although it wasn't strictly true. Harry heard a noise from upstairs.   
  
"Sorry Ginny I've got to go…something's come up. Tell Ron I said bye"   
  
"Ok" said Ginny looking confused "We'll see you soon"  
  
"Yeah, I hope so" Harry went out into the hall, wondering what he should do. Should he ignore it or should he see what it was. Before he had decided he heard a voice that he vaguely recognised as Lupins but it sounded deeper and rougher.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Hello?" Harry answered, still a bit unsure. He walked towards the stairs and put his foot on the first step. As he did so it creaked  
  
"No Harry don't come up" Lupin shouted "I'm not back to myself fully yet. I just wanted to know if you're ok"  
  
"Yeah I'm ok"  
  
"I'm going back to sleep for a few hours and then I'll be alright and I'll come down. There's some Quidditch books in the study if you're bored"  
  
"Thanks" That was just great. He didn't need books to read. He had books at the Dursleys. He needed someone to talk to, someone to tell him what was going on in the wizarding world, someone who he could talk about Sirius to. 


	3. Chapter 3

Harry was looking through the books when Talitha arrived back late in the afternoon. She stood smiling at him as he looked up from his book.  
  
"Harry, I've just been to see Dumbledore. We've decided you must learn this Occlumency as soon as we can. It's more important now than ever. It should be a bit easier now you understand why and I never thought Professor Snape was the best one too teach you in the first place"  
  
"And what if I don't want to?" Harry answered moodily. He had been sitting there for hours working himself up into a bad mood.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You and Dumbledore decided. What about me, why doesn't anyone ever ask me what I want?" Harry was getting angry now.  
  
"Harry, we're only trying to do what we think is best for you. What would Sirius say if he heard you talking like this? He wanted you to learn this as well"  
  
"I don't know what Sirius would say" yelled Harry "and I'll never know what he's got to say about anything will I?"  
  
"Harry I know what you're going through is hard but…"  
  
"You don't know anything about me and how I'm feeling" Harry shouted.  
  
"I know enough about you to know that you're exactly like your father. Too arrogant and pig-headed to listen or take advice from anyone" Talitha yelled back.  
  
"Don't talk about him like that. You don't know anything about me, Sirius or my dad"   
  
"Hey…" a deep voice shouted from the door "What's going on? What's all the shouting about?" Remus asked calmly  
  
"SHE…seems to think she knows what's best for me, thinks she knows Sirius and my dad better than I do"  
  
"But I do Harry. I probably know Sirius and James better than anyone, maybe even better than they knew each other" Talitha said a bit more calmly now  
  
"What?" Harry had also calmed down a bit   
  
"Why don't we sit down and talk about this without shouting" suggested Lupin. "Tali, I think you're going to have to explain this one"  
  
"Harry, I'm sorry I shouted" Talitha said "and I'm sorry if what I said about James upset you but it was true" Remus nodded in agreement.  
  
"Harry, I know exactly how you are feeling because I lost my parents when I was young too." Talitha continued "I was seven when they died. I went to live with my aunt and uncle as well. So I do understand how you miss your parents and that you hate it that you don't know them at all. However, I was a bit more fortunate than you, my aunt and uncle were wonderful and kind to me. They treated me like their own daughter." Talitha sat down next to Harry "They were you're grandparents Harry, which means James was my cousin. We grew up together, James was only a year older than me."  
  
"So you're a Potter?" Harry asked shocked at what he had just heard.  
  
"Yes, I suppose I am, my mum was a Potter, you're grandfathers sister. So you see by growing up with James, I know that he was arrogant and pig-headed like I said. But I also know how he was brave, loyal and kind as well."  
  
"What about Sirius? How do you know so much about him?"  
  
"I can remember the first time I saw Sirius. He came to stay at you're grandparents house, the summer after James' first year at Hogwarts." Harry noticed tears in Talitha's eyes. She stood up and turned away from him "I'm sorry… Remus can you carry on" Remus nodded and put his arm around Talitha's shoulder to comfort her.  
  
"Well, from her first day at Hogwarts, Talitha was a bit obsessed with Sirius," he grinned to try and lighten the atmosphere "weren't you Tali?" Talitha nodded half laughing and half crying "Only took her 2 years to convince him to go out with her though"  
  
"We were going to get married, but before we did, your parents… well, you know… and Sirius ended up in Azkaban, so we never did and now we never will" Talitha was trying hard not to start crying again. She had to be strong for Harry's sake.  
  
"Come on, I think we all could do with a drink" said Remus as he stood up. He went into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of Firewhiskey and 3 glasses. He poured out two large glasses and a much smaller one for Harry.  
  
"To Sirius" he said holding up his glass "and James and Lily of course" and they all clunked their glasses together.  
  
A few more glasses of Firewhiskey for Remus and Talitha and some Butterbeer for Harry and they were all laughing. Talitha and Remus were telling Harry some funny stories about when they were younger.  
  
"Remember when we went to see that band at the Hogshead in Hogsmeade" Remus laughed "What were they called…the Evil Weasels or something"  
  
"It was my last year at Hogwarts, me and Dung used James' invisibility cloak to sneak out to meet you lot" said Talitha  
  
"You and Dung were at Hogwarts together"  
  
"Yep" Talitha nodded "best friends since the first year. Seems an unlikely pairing I know"  
  
"You're mum was out with us that night as well Harry" Remus told him  
  
"Yeah, Lily and James fell out because James and Sirius had drunk too much Firewhiskey and were being idiots" laughed Talitha  
  
"Well, we were all being idiots" Remus added "Lily said she was going home after about an hour but she wouldn't let James take her on his broom"  
  
"Well I wouldn't have gone on his broom with him after he had drunk that much" Talitha added  
  
"She ended up making Peter take her home and left us all there, so James ended up drinking even more and me and Sirius had to carry him back to Sirius' flat. Not that Sirius was in a much better state himself. James threw his guts up all over Sirius' bathroom. I left them both to it" Remus laughed.  
  
"And then you had to try and help me and Dung sneak back to Hogwarts when I kept falling over and the invisibility cloak kept coming off" Talitha added, laughing "Maybe we shouldn't be telling Harry all this, he might get some bad ideas"  
  
"Wasn't it that night when Dung got his life long ban from the Hogshead?" Remus asked "Can't for the life of me remember what he did though"   
  
"James had a lot of grovelling to do the next day didn't he?" Talitha said.  
  
They were all laughing now.  
  
"So, did you know my mum well then?" asked Harry.  
  
"Yeah quite well" Talitha answered "We were all in Gryffindor. Lily and James didn't get together till their last year but they were made for each other really, once James grew up and stopped being goofy" Talitha said as she stood up.   
  
"Hang on a minute I'll show you something" she said as she left the room.  
  
"So Harry, how are you feeling?" Remus asked him.  
  
"A bit better now. At least I know you two can understand how I'm feeling"  
  
"We do and any time you need to talk just say"  
  
"Why didn't Talitha ever contact me before now?" Harry asked  
  
"Well, I think she wrote to you a few times at the Dursleys but I wouldn't imagine they ever gave you the letters. Talitha and Sirius wanted to look after you when you're mum and dad died, after all they were you're godparents"  
  
"Talitha's my godmother?"  
  
"Yeah, but Dumbledore insisted that you were safest at the Dursleys, to start with at least. Then everything happened with Sirius and Wormtail and Sirius ended up in Azkaban as you know. Well, Talitha stood by him, said he was innocent but no-one believed her. A lot of people thought she was in on it as well. Dumbledore, although I don't think he thought she was, decided you'd be better of staying where you were. Also Talitha was out of the country a lot so it made it hard for her to contact you. After you started Hogwarts she wanted to get in touch but thought it would be better to wait until she could see you in person rather than just some random letter appearing out of no where. So then Sirius escaped, and Talitha decided to keep out of the country because she knew that the people trying to catch Sirius would assume she knew where he was."   
  
"Why didn't Sirius ever say anything about her?" Harry asked.  
  
"When you first met Sirius, he had no idea where Talitha was so he thought it best not to say anything. When he went on the run again he decided to find her. I told him that she was in Australia so that's where he went. When he eventually found her they decided not to say anything to you until she could come and meet you in person. She had to stay out there when he came back. She was in London a few times last year and she saw Sirius a few days before he died. It was never the right time to meet you though. She was helping out with stuff for the order and wasn't around much. She didn't want to just turn up and say 'Hi Harry, I'm your godmother, see you around in a few months time' She was planning to contact you properly this summer but then the Death Eaters escaped so she had to come and fetch you"  
  
"So she and Sirius were…"  
  
"They were mad about each other, Harry, completely and utterly. She's putting on a brave face in front of you but inside she's really hurting"  
  
"What are you two talking about?" Talitha asked as she came back in the room.  
  
"I was just about to tell Harry how you used to follow Sirius around Hogwarts" laughed Remus  
  
"No I didn't" Talitha protested  
  
"You did, every time I looked round, there you'd be staring at him all dreamy"  
  
"Shut up" Talitha pushed Remus playfully. "Harry, here's some photos I thought you might like to see" Harry took hold of the pile she was holding and opened it up. Talitha pointed to the top one.  
  
"That's James, Sirius, Remus and Peter on their last day at school" she explained. Harry looked at it closely. They looked almost the same as when he had seen them in Snape's memory, just a few years older. James and Sirius stood in the middle grinning at him. James' hair was less messy now than it had been in Snape's memory, had he stopped ruffling it on purpose? Sirius had a mischievous look in his eye. Remus stood next to Sirius also grinning. Peter was next to James looking at the other three.  
  
"And this one's of your mum and dad on the same day" James and Lily were looking at each other like no one else in the world mattered. Harry picked up the next one, showing Sirius and Talitha. Sirius' arm was around Talitha's shoulder. Sirius was about fifteen or sixteen and it was summer so it must have been taken around the time of Snape's memory. That explained why in the memory while James was showing off to the girls Sirius didn't even notice them.  
  
"Here's a good one" said Remus "that's Sirius holding you as a baby"  
  
"That's such a sweet picture. It's one of my favourites" said Talitha "You were about six months old then Harry" Harry stared at the picture. Sirius looked so happy, who could have imagined what was going to happen 6 months after that picture was taken. Harry looked through the rest of the pictures, Talitha and Remus explaining each one as he did. They were mostly of them all from when they were at school up until his parents died.  
  
"So" said Remus, when they got to the end of the photographs "Are you going to give the Occlumency another go then Harry?"  
  
"Yeah, I suppose so. I'm sorry about earlier. I was just angry that I never get told or asked anything"  
  
"Let's make a deal" Talitha suggested "In the future, you ask me anything you want to know and if I know the answer I'll tell you as long as it's not like an 'order' secret or anything  
  
"Same goes for me" Remus added. Harry nodded in agreement  
  
"Time for bed I think" said Talitha "We've got lots to do tomorrow, we'll start on the Occlumency then. Remus, Harry's stuffs still in the study can you take it up and show him his room?" Harry followed Remus and the now levitating trunk up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Right, you need to clear you're mind. The best way to block the spell is to try and reverse it. Try and get into my mind, Harry" Talitha said as they stood in the living room the next morning.  
  
"Aren't you going to use a pensieve to put you're memories in, like Snape did?" Harry asked  
  
"Harry, I told you last night, I have no secrets from you. I will warn you there may be things that will shock you but I'm not going to keep anything from you ok. If you concentrate really hard you might even find out some stuff about you're dad"  
  
"I don't know if I want to after what I saw in Snape's memory"  
  
"Ah yes. Remus told me about that. I'm going to show you something Harry" she said taking a large bowl of off the shelf which Harry recognised as a pensieve. She put the tip of her wand to her head and then pointed it into the bowl. Harry peered in cautiously.  
  
"Go on in then" Talitha told him  
  
Harry instantly recognised where he was as he looked around the Gryffindor common room. He glanced around, there was only about 5 or 6 people in there. Talitha spoke behind him, having followed him into the memory.  
  
"This is the same day as the memory you saw of Snape's" she said quietly, she pointed over to the corner of the common room. Harry walked a bit closer and looked at the two students sitting there. One was a very pretty girl, long dark hair and hazel eyes aged about fourteen, Harry instantly recognized her as Talitha, shocked at how much like James she looked. He hadn't realised before. She even had the Potter untidy hair. Next to her sat a boy about the same age with dark blonde hair and scruffy robes. They were laughing loudly.  
  
"Is that Dung?" He asked. Talitha nodded. Harry moved a bit nearer so he could see what they were doing. He walked passed a blonde haired girl surrounded by parchment and books who was frantically searching for something. Harry noticed a pile of items on the table near Talitha and Dung, 3 bars of chocolate, 2 quills, some exploding snap cards and a book on Quidditch. As he reached them he saw Dung pointing his wand towards a boy sitting in the corner reading a book.  
  
"Accio wand" he said chuckling. The boy's wand came floating past Harry.  
  
"I think you've got the summoning charm now Dung" the young Talitha laughed mischievously, catching the wand and putting it on the table with the other things. Harry laughed as well. Harry thought to himself that Talitha and Dung had probably been as mischievous as James and Sirius had. Harry turned as he heard someone come storming into the common room. It was his mum, her face had gone slightly red, just like Ron's did when he was angry. She threw her self into a chair next to the blonde girl.  
  
"What's up with you?" the girl asked Lily.  
  
"Potter! He's so annoying"  
  
"What's he done this time?" the young Talitha called across to her  
  
"You're cousin is an arrogant, pig-headed git and that Sirius Black is no better" Lily answered  
  
"Well I know that but what did they do?" Talitha asked as she grinned at Lily. Lily went on to explain what James and Sirius had done to Snape.  
  
"Ah come on Lily, you know he does it to impress you because he fancies you" young Talitha told her  
  
"And that's supposed to make me like him more. He'd be alright if he wasn't such a show off"  
  
"James Potter, not show off, now that's a thought" young Talitha laughed. Lily laughed as well.  
  
"Give him a chance Lily" Dung said "he's crazy about you"  
  
"Well he'd have to grow up a lot if I was to change my opinion of him"  
  
"And you know Snape's always asking for it, he'd hex anyone rather than look at them. He deserves it if you ask me" added Talitha. Lily started to smile.  
  
"You should have seen him when Sirius spun him upside down, I had to force myself not to laugh" she said.  
  
"So, they're down by the lake?" young Talitha asked, after they had finished laughing. Lily nodded.  
  
"I might go and see if I can find Sirius then" she added as she stood up to leave. Harry and grown up Talitha followed her. As they were leaving the common room, Harry continued to listen to the conversation going on in the corner.  
  
"Has any one seen my quill?" the blonde girl asked.  
  
"Do you need a new one?" asked Dung "I can sell you one if you want"  
  
Harry and Talitha followed the young Talitha through Hogwarts.  
  
"See, your mum didn't really hate your dad. I think she used to get annoyed with him showing off because she did like him. Her shouting at him was the equivalent to him showing of in front of her. It would have been much easier if they had just told each other" They continued to walk down passed the great hall. Harry found it strange to be walking through Hogwarts and not recognising anyone. Suddenly Harry felt a pang of excitement in his stomach.  
  
"Are we going to see my dad and Sirius again?" Harry asked. Talitha nodded. They were outside by now and heading back down towards the lake where Harry had been in Snape's memory. They could see James and his friends in the distance. Remus still sitting reading a book. Sirius and James also sitting now, facing away from them. Peter had disappeared.  
  
"Oi, Potter, you great idiot!" they heard young Talitha shout across to them. James and Sirius both jumped up and spun round whipping out their wands as they did so. When they realised who it was they both grinned and put their wands away again. Sirius ran over to young Talitha and kissed her. He no longer looked bored, like when Harry had seen him previously. They walked back over to where James and Remus were sitting.  
  
"So James, I hear you've been upsetting Lily Evans again. She told me you were a pig-headed git." Talitha said as she sat down  
  
"Ah well…" James started.  
  
"She also said she might actually quite like you if you grew up a bit and stopped showing off"   
  
"Did she? Really?"  
  
"Sounds like a challenge to me, Prongs" said Sirius. James didn't reply as he sat there thinking how to prove he was grown up.  
  
"Come on lets go" grown up Talitha said to Harry "we've got some Occlumency to do"  
  
Seconds later they were back in the living room at Remus' house  
  
"But I still don't get why they were horrible to Snape in the first place"  
  
"Snape was as bad as they were, used to walk around school cursing and hexing people. Mostly he would pick on the younger kids though. Nasty piece of work he was."  
  
"But why did Sirius and my dad hate him so much"  
  
"Well, there is a reason for that. I'll show you later but first Occlumency. We aren't putting it off any longer"  
  
"Ok"  
  
"Now, clear you're mind, think of nothing" Talitha told him. "And you've got to try and fight against it"  
  
They stood facing each other. Talitha said the incantation.   
  
"Legilimens" Harry could see Dudley pinching him, then uncle Vernon shouting at him. He tried to fight against the spell, more memories of the Dursleys. Then suddenly, a little girl, about seven or eight years old, was sitting in a garden. She was crying. A boy, not much older came out of the house and sat down next to her. The boy put his arm round the girl to comfort her. Then it went blank  
  
"Good Harry, you're getting there" Talitha said  
  
"I saw you and my dad, you were crying. Was that just after your parents died?"  
  
Talitha smiled at him and nodded.  
  
"Shall we try again?"  
  
Harry nodded. This time he saw Sirius and Remus in the shrieking shack, the first time he had met Sirius and still thought he was an escaped murderer, this memory went on longer than the others had and then he remembered he was supposed to be blocking it. He mustn't let things like this stay in his mind just because he wanted to see them. 'No' he thought to himself willing it to go. He could see a familiar room, Sirius and Talitha were there, Sirius looked about 16 years old. A tall thin dark haired woman was there as well. Suddenly Harry realised where they were, it was Grimmauld Place, the kitchen.  
  
"I'm not having her in my house, dirty half-breed" Mrs. Black was screaming at Sirius "Get her out!"  
  
"Then we'll both go, and I won't be coming back here again ever!" Sirius yelled back Sirius stormed out of the kitchen Talitha following him. Harry came out of the memory.  
  
"Oh my god Talitha, that was horrible" he said  
  
"Well, you know what Mrs. Black was like, you saw her portrait. That's the only time I ever met her in person. I got pretty much the same treatment from the portrait though. Horrible old hag she was"  
  
"Did Sirius ever go back?"  
  
"Just the once, the next day to collect his stuff, he spent the rest of the summer at your grandparents."  
  
"How's it going?" Remus asked from the door way.  
  
"Fine" Talitha answered "We're getting somewhere, I think"  
  
"I've made some dinner" Remus told them. After dinner Talitha, Harry and Remus sat up talking late into the night. 


	5. Chapter 5

Harry woke up the next morning to Remus calling him.  
  
"You've got visitors Harry" he said and then left the room. Harry pulled his clothes on and walked sleepily down to the kitchen where he could here voices. He opened the kitchen door to find Ron, Ginny and Arthur Weasley sitting round the table drinking tea.  
  
"Alright mate?" asked Ron  
  
"Yeah fine" Harry muttered sleepily as he sat down and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice  
  
"Harry, Arthur and I have got some stuff for the order to discuss so it's up to you to entertain your guests ok?"  
  
"Mmm" said Harry. Remus and Arthur went into the living room.  
  
"So where is she then?" Ron asked  
  
"What? Who? Oh Talitha you mean? Sorry I'm still half asleep"  
  
"Yeah dad was telling us" said Ginny  
  
"Erm… I don't know where she is …hang on. REMUS!" Remus' head popped round the door  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where's Tali?"  
  
"She had to go out early this morning. Dumbledore wanted to see her. Not sure when she'll be back though" he disappeared back into the living room  
  
"What's she like?" asked Ginny  
  
"Really nice. Did your dad tell you she's my godmother and my dad's cousin?"  
  
"No! Really?" said Ron  
  
"Yeah and she's really funny. She's told me loads of stuff about my dad and Sirius." Harry told them about the Hogshead incident. Ron nearly fell of his chair laughing  
  
"I told you we would get served in there" He said  
  
"And you'll never guess" Harry teased  
  
"Go on tell us" said Ginny  
  
"She and Sirius were supposed to be getting married before he went to Azkaban"  
  
"Sirius getting married!" Ron laughed again.  
  
They heard a crack in the hall way and the kitchen door opened  
  
"Morning!" Talitha said cheerfully. She smiled at Ron and Ginny "Oh I didn't realize we had visitors, you must be Ron and Ginny. I can spot a Weasley a mile off"  
  
"Yeah Mr. Weasley's in the living room talking to Remus" Harry told her. Talitha opened the living room door  
  
"Morning Arthur" she called and then shut the door again. She turned to the three sitting at the table "So have we had breakfast or not"  
  
Later that morning Harry, Ron and Ginny sat round the table moaning they were bored. Arthur Weasley had already left. Talitha told him she would send Ron and Ginny home later.  
  
"What can we do?" Harry asked.  
  
"Dunno" Ron answered  
  
"What about a game of Quidditch?" Talitha asked  
  
"There isn't enough of us, we can't play with three" said Harry  
  
"And we haven't got our brooms" Ginny added  
  
"Well, there's got a couple of old brooms upstairs you can use and we could play to make the numbers up, couldn't we Remus" Remus looked up from his book and nodded.  
  
"You play Quidditch?" Ron asked Talitha.  
  
"Haven't you ever heard of the most famous Gryffindor chaser line up ever?" Remus laughed. Harry, Ron and Ginny looked puzzled  
  
"McKenzie, Potter and Black, five consecutive Quidditch house cups" Talitha told them  
  
"You mean…" started Ron  
  
"I thought my dad was a seeker" Harry said "after I saw him playing with that snitch"  
  
"He would have been if it'd been his choice. He loved playing Seeker, got all the glory that way but he was actually better at playing chaser. Plus Aidan Lynch was our Seeker"  
  
"Aidan Lynch, he plays for Ireland" said Ron  
  
"Yeah we saw him at the World Cup" added Ginny.  
  
"That's right. So with Lynch, Potter, McKenzie and Black no one could beat us"  
  
"Don't forget the fabulous Keeper Lupin, who didn't let many goals in" added Remus  
  
"And the best beater ever Mundungus Fletcher" a voice came from the hall. They hadn't heard Dung apperate into the house. He entered the kitchen and sat down at the table.  
  
"So you all…" Ron started  
  
"We won every match except one" Remus told them "so do you fancy a game or not?"  
  
"But where can we play?" Ginny asked  
  
"We'll floo to the Park next to Diagon Alley" suggested Dung "Wait here a minute, I'll fetch my broom"  
  
Crack  
  
Remus went upstairs and came back with two old brooms.  
  
"I think they still work ok" He passed one each to Ron and Ginny  
  
Crack  
  
Dung reappeared holding his broom.  
  
"Are we off then?" he asked  
  
Talitha took out some floo powder and one by one they stepped into the fire. On reaching Diagon Alley they walked away from the shops towards a large green park. Once they had found a space big enough to play Dung pulled out a set of Quidditch balls  
  
"Ok Ron, Dung and Ginny on one team and me, Harry and Moony on the other" said Talitha. She flicked her wand and a goal hoop appeared at each end of the area "we'll forget about the snitch and the bludgers and just play with the quaffle"  
  
Ron flew of towards one end, Remus to the other. They played all afternoon. Harry, Talitha and Remus won but Harry was surprised at how much Ron had improved and Ginny played really well.  
  
"You'll definitely have to play chaser for Gryffindor when we get back" Harry told her. Ginny grinned  
  
"Who do you think will be captain now Angelina has left?" Ron asked  
  
"Dunno" Harry replied "Alicia and Katie have left as well. We'll need almost a whole new team"  
  
By the time they got back to Remus' house, it was time for Ron and Ginny to go home. Soon after dinner Harry went to bed exhausted. 


	6. Chapter 6

Harry spent the next few days practicing Occlumency with Talitha, apart from the occasional times when she had to go and see Dumbledore or do something for the order. Ron and Ginny visited again a few times, Fred and George came once. He also had a few letters from Hermione  
  
"Your Hogwarts letter's arrived" Remus told him one morning at breakfast, about a week before he was due back at school. Harry tore it open and read his list of books  
  
Depending on your choice of subjects for the following year you will need:  
  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) by Miranda Goshawk  
  
Advanced Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
  
Potions for NEWTS by Francesca Hill  
  
The Ultimate Guide to Magical Creatures by Byron Daniels  
  
Dark Arts by Morgan Reeves  
  
Arithmancy for the Elite by Yolanda Gardle  
  
Curses and Counter-curses by Vindictus Viridian  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry then looked at the next piece of parchment  
  
We are pleased to inform you of your OWL examination results  
  
  
  
HARRY JAMES POTTER  
  
Transfiguration E  
  
Charms O  
  
Potions A  
  
DivinationA  
  
History of MagicA  
  
HerbologyE  
  
Care of Magical CreaturesE  
  
AstronomyE  
  
Defence Against the Dark Arts O  
  
"My exams!" Harry said sounding somewhat shocked. Remus looked up.  
  
"I've passed them all!" Harry shouted "Three acceptable's, four Exceeds expectations and two Outstandings! I can't believe it"  
  
He ran over and hugged Remus who was grinning madly  
  
"Where's Talitha?" Harry asked "I want to tell her the good news" Before Remus could answer.  
  
Crack  
  
"I'm here!" Talitha called from the hall. She entered the kitchen and hugged Harry as well  
  
"I hear it's congratulations" she said "Dumbledore told me, I've just been to see him"  
  
"I can't believe it" Harry said excitedly, and then suddenly his face fell.  
  
"Professor McGonagal said that Snape would only take students for NEWTS if they had got an Outstanding in Potions. She said I would need Potions if I wanted to be an Auror"  
  
"We'll sort something out Harry. Professor Snape might change his mind" Talitha said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.  
  
"And it is possible to be an Auror without a NEWT in Potions if you're get really good grades at everything else" Remus added.  
  
"I've got some more news any way" said Talitha. Harry and Remus looked at her expectantly.  
  
"I know who your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be" she said grinning.  
  
"Who?" asked Harry.  
  
"Me!" she said "That's what Dumbledore wanted to see me for. He can't find anyone else and it means I'll get to spend more time with you, Harry"  
  
"Cool" said Harry as he grinned.   
  
"We'll go to Diagon Alley after breakfast and get you're new things for school, if you like" Talitha suggested. Harry nodded  
  
"I might see you in the leaky cauldron later" Remus told them 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Thanks for all the great reviews. I'm definatley carrying on as I have already written the end. I just need to link it with the beginning. (Yes something very big happens). I will be adding chapters quite regularly so keep looking.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They got to Diagon Alley by floo and went straight to Flourish and Blotts the bookstore. "So what subjects are you going to take Harry, have you decided" Talitha asked. Harry wasn't sure  
  
"Well to be an Auror I need to do Defence Against the Dark Arts" He said "and McGonagal said Transfiguration"  
  
"Yeah, and you should do Charms and we'll see what we can do about Potions, we'll get the book anyway" Talitha added.  
  
"So that leaves me two to pick"  
  
"Herbology would help with Potions" Talitha suggested.  
  
"And I thought maybe Care of Magical Creatures"  
  
"Yeah they all sound about right". They got all of the books and made their way over to the apothecary's to stock up on potion ingredients.  
  
"I'll get some stuff for Remus' potion while we're here" Talitha told Harry. Next they went into Madame Malkin's to get Harry some new robes.  
  
They wandered down the street looking in the shop windows, trying to decide if there was anything else to buy when Harry saw a familiar face coming out of Flourish and Blotts.  
  
"'Mione!" He shouted across to her. He ran over and hugged her.   
  
"Harry! I got Outstandings in all of my exams!" She yelled excitedly. Harry told her about his exam results. Hermione glanced around.   
  
"Who are you here with?" She asked Harry, looking around "Is Ron here?"  
  
"No, not Ron," said Harry as he looked round at Talitha, who had followed him across the street, and grinned  
  
"Hi, I'm Talitha McKenzie" She said to Hermione "I'm Harry's godmother"  
  
"WHAT! Harry you didn't tell me" Hermione said excitedly  
  
"Sorry…I assumed Ron had"  
  
"Why don't you two wander off and catch up on the gossip. Meet me in the Leaky Cauldron later Harry"  
  
"Ok" Harry and Hermione walked over to the ice cream parlour and Harry filled her in with everything that had happened over the summer  
  
Talitha made her way back to the Leaky Cauldron to see if Remus was there. She spotted him in the corner talking to Dung. She waved and made her way over to them.  
  
"I hope he isn't selling anything" she laughed as she sat down, nodding towards Dung"  
  
"Actually, if you're interested I've got some lovely Quidditch robes at the moment"  
  
"Dung" Talitha laughed "Why would I want Quidditch robes? I don't play any more, not enough to have robes anyway"  
  
"Where's Harry?" Remus asked "not lost him already have you?"  
  
"He met Hermione. He's filling her in on all the news"  
  
"Meaning you?"  
  
"Yep, so I thought I'd leave them to it. He's going to meet us here"  
  
"Hey! Kingsley!" Dung yelled across the pub "Over here mate!"  
  
Kingsley Shacklebolt came over to where they were sitting.  
  
"Talitha, I didn't know you were back. How you doin'?"  
  
"Good, all things considering" Talitha replied. Kingsley sat down next to Dung. After a short time Talitha went to the bar again to get more drinks.  
  
"What's this, unofficial Order meeting?" a voice laughed. Talitha looked round.  
  
"Alastor! Oh my god, it's so good to see you. It must be two years since I last saw you" said Talitha, as she threw her arms round Mad-eye Moody and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"I hear you've got a new job" he said  
  
"Yeah, Dumbledore asked me this morning. I never thought I'd be going back to Hogwarts as a teacher."  
  
"How's Harry?"  
  
"He's doin' fine. He's missing Sirius of course but I think it's helping him by being with me and Remus"  
  
"Good"  
  
"Come and join us" Talitha said as she picked up the drinks she had ordered "but be warned Dung's trying to sell Quidditch robes"  
  
They sat down at the table. Everyone was enjoying themselves. It made a change to meet up socially like this and not for an Order meeting. The laughing and joking continued.  
  
"Hey Mooney" Talitha said to Remus "it's your round" Remus reached the bar just as Harry came through the door from Diagon Alley  
  
"Do you want a drink Harry?"  
  
"Yeah ok" Harry joined him at the bar "Hermione had to go and meet her parents" he said "What's going on over there?"  
  
"Oh nothing much, we all met up by accident. It isn't a meeting or anything" Harry and Remus went over to the table. After about half an hour Kingsley and Moody left.  
  
"I suppose we better be off as well if you've got everything" said Remus. 


	8. Chapter 8

Harry spent the last few days of the summer holidays at the Weasley's because Talitha had to go to Hogwarts early and Remus was away doing something for the Order. The days were fun but uneventful except for Fred and George experimenting with stuff for their joke shop, which often resulted in a loud bang and Mrs. Weasley shouting.  
  
Mr. Weasley took them to the station on the first of September. He had borrowed a car from Dung and it was much easier because now there was only Ron, Ginny and Harry.  
  
They met Hermione on Platform 9 ¾ and found themselves a carriage on the train. Neville came and joined them later. As they were getting close to Hogwarts Hermione realized something.  
  
"I haven't seen Malfoy yet" she said  
  
"Maybe they haven't let him come back seeing as his dad's a Death Eater" Ron replied  
  
"Was his dad one of the one's that escaped Azkaban?" Harry asked  
  
"Dunno" said Neville. Hermione shrugged.  
  
Once they reached Hogwarts, they all jumped out of the train and looked round for Hagrid.  
  
"He's not here again" said Ginny when she saw Professor McGonagal rounding up the first years.  
  
"I wonder where he's gone" Harry replied  
  
"Probably something to do with the Order" Ron added.  
  
Talitha entered the Great Hall and looked up towards the teachers table. Only a few of the teachers were already there. Professor Flitwick smiled at her. He must have remembered her from when she was a student. She felt someone push past her  
  
"Hey watch where you're going" she said as she looked around and saw a tall thin man with dark greasy hair.  
  
"Ah Snivellus" she said and laughed to herself "We meet again. Let's make it a bit more pleasant than the first time shall we" Professor Snape glared at her and swept away down the hall to the teachers table. Talitha waited a few seconds and then followed him. She sat down at an empty chair the furthest she could from Snape. She could see him looking at her out of the corner of her eye but she ignored him.  
  
"Hi Talitha. I didn't know you were going to be here" A tall athletically built man sat down next to her.  
  
"Charlie Weasley!" Talitha was surprised "What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"Madam Hooch is off sick and Hagrids going to be away for a bit so Dumbledore asked me to teach Care of Magical Creatures and Quidditch"  
  
"I thought you were in Romania fighting Dragons" Talitha grinned  
  
"I was. I wanted to be a bit closer to home though"  
  
"Ron and Ginny never said you were back"  
  
"Oh, they don't know yet. I thought I'd surprise them" Charlie laughed  
  
They heard the main door to the hall open and it suddenly became noisy as hundreds of students came flooding through, all trying to tell their friends what they had been up to over the summer. Talitha and Charlie watched Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione enter through the doors. Ginny saw her brother first and came racing down the hall, Ron wasn't far behind. Harry and Hermione followed them but at a slightly slower pace.  
  
"Charlie! What are you doing here?" Ginny asked  
  
"I'm your new Care of Magical Creatures teacher"  
  
"Where's Hagrid gone" asked Ron  
  
"He's away doing some stuff for the Order, Dumbledore isn't sure how long it'll be before he's back" Talitha told them "Charlie's taking Quidditch as well because Madame Hooch is off sick"  
  
"Do you two know each other?" Ginny asked  
  
"Talitha was head girl when I started at Hogwarts" Charlie replied.  
  
"That make's me feel so old" Talitha laughed  
  
"And we met up again when Tali was out in Romania a few years ago. Neither of us knew the other was going to be here" Charlie told them.  
  
"Look the Sorting's going to start in a minute" said Hermione "we'd better go and sit down"  
  
"See you later" Talitha said as she winked at Harry.  
  
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny sat down at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Look at Snape" Hermione hissed. They all glanced round. Snape was glaring at Talitha with pure hatred in his eyes.  
  
"The only time I've seen him look anywhere as angry as that is when he came face to face with Sirius at the Shrieking Shack" said Ron  
  
"I didn't expect them to get on" whispered Harry "but I didn't think he would be this bad"  
  
"Talitha's not even looked at him" added Ginny "She's completely ignoring him" They all sat watching Talitha and Snape at the teachers table.  
  
"Malfoy" whispered Ron, pointing at the Slytherin table.  
  
"I can't believe they let him come back after what his dad did" said Hermione. 


	9. Chapter 9

The sixth years were all gathered in one of the larger classrooms when Professor McGonagal came in.  
  
"You have this morning to decide and signup for the courses you wish to take for your NEWTS" she told them "The lists will be in the great hall after breakfast has been cleared away for you to sign up and most of the teachers will be on hand throughout the morning to discuss any queries you have. Lessons will start tomorrow" she told them.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the hall. The house tables had been moved to one side and there were smaller tables at various places where they could sign up to the classes. The respective teacher stood at each table.  
  
"I know what subjects I'm taking" said Harry "So I'm going to go and say hi to Talitha" He walked off towards her, she saw him and smiled. She was talking to Neville when he got over to her so he waited until they had finished and Neville had moved on.  
  
"Did you manage to do anything about potions?" He asked quietly   
  
"Not yet, I will in a minute" she told him "Glad to be back?"   
  
"Yeah, although I'm missing Remus a bit"  
  
"You'll see him again soon" Talitha said warmly. "He said he'd come and visit when he can"  
  
"Ah Professor McKenzie" Snape interrupted. Talitha did not look at him as he spoke. "Not trying to convince Potter to take you're class are you. You see, Potter doesn't need lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts because he's already such a hero. Maybe he could teach you a thing or two" Harry heard Talitha take a deep breath as if to try and keep her cool  
  
"Professor Snape, could I have a word with you in private" She said smiling sweetly at him. This threw him.  
  
"What? Erm yes I suppose. Shall we go to my office?" Snape seemed genuinely confused at Talitha's pleasant manner. He turned and swept out of the hall, before following him Talitha leaned over to Harry and whispered.  
  
"Best turn on the old Potter charm" She laughed.  
  
Talitha followed Snape to his office in the dungeons of Hogwarts without speaking to him. She glanced around the room. It was dark and gloomy.  
  
"Nice place" she said with a hint of sarcasm  
  
"What is it McKenzie? Get to the point, we know neither of us wants to be here"  
  
"I need to ask you a favour"  
  
"You've got to be joking, me do something for you" Snape sneered. Talitha ignored him and carried on.  
  
"I want you to allow Harry to take your Potions class"  
  
"You know I will only take those with Outstanding OWLS in my class"  
  
"Yes, but I am asking you to make Harry an exception to that"  
  
"It seems Potter is an exception to every rule. What makes you think I'd do something like that for you?"  
  
"I'm not asking you to do it for me. I have very good reasons for wanting Harry to take Potions. I think it is vital for his future that he does so. Now, I can go and see Dumbledore who will fully agree with me and will insist that you teach Harry or you can agree now and Dumbledore will never have to know that you were so uncooperative"  
  
"I have only the best Potions students in my class. He will not be able to keep up" Snape insisted.  
  
"I have every confidence that Harry is quite able to pass the NEWT exams in Potions, however, I will personally give Harry any extra tutoring he may need to ensure he meets you're high standards" Talitha stated  
  
"Well it seems I have no choice then" Snape replied. Talitha nodded, turned and left the room. She headed back to the main hall where she caught Harry's eye and gave him the thumbs up.  
  
Back up in the common room Harry, Ron and Hermione discussed what subjects they had chosen. Ron and Hermione were doing the same subjects as Harry except Hermione had opted for Arithmancy instead of Care of Magical creatures and Ron had picked Astronomy instead of Potions  
  
"I don't know how you can choose to spend another two years with Snape?" Ron said 


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning after Transfiguration they had Defence Against the Dark Arts. Most of the class had arrived ten minute before the lesson was due to start and were already in their seats when Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived  
  
"Charlie, what are you doing here" Ron asked his brother as soon as he saw him sitting at the back of the classroom.  
  
"Professor McKenzie asked me to lend a hand. You'll find out soon enough." Charlie explained "Anyway its Professor Weasley now" he laughed. Ron grinned as he took a seat next to Hermione.   
  
As Talitha entered the room all the class fell silent immediately, keen to get started.  
  
"Well. I think we will get started straight away. " she stated "I know you all did some duelling a few years ago with Professor Lockhart but I believe that it didn't go to well, unsurprisingly. So we are going to have another try. I am sure you are all quite aware of what is going on in the Wizarding world and it may be that at some point in the future, one or more of you will need to be able to defend yourself. Duelling isn't just about knowing spells and incantations, timing and most of all confidence, plays a big part in it. Later I will show you some spells and hexes that you probably won't have heard of but first a practical demonstration" She looked towards the back of the room "Charlie, sorry Professor Weasley, if you're ready"  
  
"Charlie's excellent at duelling" Ron bragged to his friends "He and Bill do it all the time at home. He knows all sorts of spells that control the dragons he worked with. She hasn't got a chance"  
  
Charlie and Talitha moved some of the tables out of the way and faced each other. The duel began. Within seconds Charlie was on the floor coughing and spluttering. Ron helped him up. He was then hit by a flash of light which almost made him swear.  
  
"Oh that's how we're playing is it" He laughed as he retaliated, pointing his wand at Talitha and muttering something the students couldn't quite hear. Talitha sharply flicked her wand before he finished the spell "Stupify" she said almost casually and Charlie froze.  
  
"And that's how we duel" Talitha addressed the class, laughing. She was enjoying herself. "Ok, now who wants to have a go" She looked around the class. "Ron, fancy getting your own back on your brother" Ron nodded and walked to stand in front of Talitha, facing Charlie. Talitha whispered something to him and he grinned.  
  
"Right, on three, I'll unfreeze him and then you have to be quick. One…Two…Three"  
  
Charlie moved, Ron muttered the spell and pointed his wand. Again Charlie was on the floor. The whole class laughed, Charlie included.  
  
By the end of the class everyone had had a go at duelling Charlie with the help of Professor McKenzie. Charlie had even got a few hits in himself. Charlie left as the sixth year class copied down their homework of the blackboard.  
  
Once all of the students had left, Talitha picked up her bag and headed out of the door, straight into Snape.  
  
"McKenzie! You again!"  
  
"Get out of my way Snivellus"  
  
"Seen any of your old gang recently?" Snape asked trying to ignore her comment  
  
"As you well know, three are dead and one has chosen to side with Voldemort. Oh and seeing as it's a full moon tonight one is most probably half way to being a werewolf. Hardly the time for a reunion" she snapped at him.  
  
"So that just leaves you and the wannabe villain"  
  
"You leave Dung out of this" Talitha continued walking as a second year girl ran past in the opposite direction  
  
"10 points from Ravenclaw Miss Harrington" Snape yelled after the student.  
  
"You love it don't you, bossing people around, removing house points and handing out detentions. Well done Snivelly, you've now got all that power that you craved so much when you were here as a student and you still get to pick on the younger kids" Talitha glared at Snape as he stopped still. She turned her back on him and carried onto the hall for lunch. 


	11. Chapter 11

Harry arrived at Talitha's office after dinner and knocked on the door, they had arranged another Occlumency practice.  
  
"Come in" Talitha called. Harry entered the room. Talitha was sitting at the desk with an old photograph in her hand. Harry could tell she had been crying. He put his hand on her arm to comfort her and looked at the picture. There was a group of people all in their late teens. There was his mum and dad holding hands, Talitha ruffling Sirius' hair, Remus and Dung looked like they were arguing but in a friendly way and Peter stood on the end.  
  
"I was just thinking how happy we all were then" She smiled at Harry "Now only three of us are relatively unaffected by it all" Harry smiled back at her and they both remained silent for a few minutes.  
  
"Anyway" said Talitha "we've got to get on with Occlumency. Oh and before I forget, if you're having any trouble with the Potions work you must let me help you. I told Snape that you wouldn't struggle or fall behind. I want you getting full marks so we can prove him wrong"  
  
"Ok. Talitha, can I ask you something?"  
  
"Shoot"  
  
"How come Professor Dumbledore has let Malfoy come back here after what his father did?"  
  
"He had good reasons Harry. Remember, nobody is responsible for anything that a member of their family has done. Now, clear your mind. Ready?"  
  
For the next hour Harry tried and tried to block the spell and whilst he mostly managed to stop his memories he couldn't seem to reverse it and see Talitha's like he had been able to before. She must be trying harder to block it because all he could get was a few brief images of her as a child sitting on a train. When they stopped for a break he asked her about it.  
  
"Ok, I was going to show you that later anyway." Talitha told him. She took out the pensieve and put it on the desk. Talitha used her wand to transfer the memory. Harry leaned over and suddenly found himself on platform 9 ¾. A few seconds later Talitha appeared. Harry gazed around and once again spotted a familiar face, his dad. James came walking past, a few steps behind was Talitha aged about 11, her hair in two braids.  
  
"That's your grandparents Harry" Talitha told him pointing at a man and a woman just behind young Talitha. They were probably about the same age then as Talitha was now. The man was pushing a trolley with two large trunks on it.   
  
"James, make sure you look after her" Harry's grandmother said "and Talitha, you behave yourself at school" The two children nodded. Harry realized it must be Talitha's first year at Hogwarts.  
  
"Potter, up here" a voice called. Harry looked along the train and smiled when he saw a twelve year old Sirius leaning out of the window. James and young Talitha climbed into the carriage containing Sirius. Young Remus and Peter were there as well. Harry and Talitha followed them onto the train. The Hogwarts express left the station and after about five minutes young Talitha stood up.  
  
"I'm fed up of listening to you lot, I'm going to see if I can find anyone else to talk to" she said as she left the carriage. Harry wanted to stay and listen to James and Sirius but Talitha nodded at him to follow the younger version of herself. About three carriages down the train young Talitha had stopped, she was talking to a boy who Harry recognized as Dung.   
  
"Alright if I sit here" Talitha said to him. He nodded "I'm Talitha"  
  
"Mundungus" he said "call me Dung though. Is it your first year as well?"   
  
"Yeah" Talitha nodded "I was sitting with my cousin and his friends but they were boring. Do you have any brothers or sisters at Hogwarts?"  
  
"I've got a brother in the sixth year." Dung answered. Young Talitha looked round as a thin, scruffy looking boy with dark greasy hair came into the carriage and sat down without even looking at them.   
  
"Is that Snape?" Harry asked as he looked as well. Talitha nodded  
  
"Which house do you think you'll be in?" Dung continued "I hope I get in Gryffindor, my dad was. My mum was in Ravenclaw so that would be ok"  
  
"Yeah, I want to be in Gryffindor too, my mum was in Gryffindor"  
  
"What about your dad? Dung asked  
  
"Oh he didn't go to Hogwarts. He was a muggle, he died about four years ago" she answered. Young Snape looked up and glared at her. Young Talitha saw him and glared back.  
  
"What's your problem?" she demanded.  
  
"Your dad was a muggle?" Snape asked.  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"We don't need your sort at Hogwarts" Snape sneered  
  
"What do you mean by my sort?"  
  
"Dirty half-breeds, nearly as bad as them letting in mud-bloods"  
  
"How dare you call me that!" young Talitha yelled as she jumped to her feet "Take it back!"   
  
"I will not, I meant every word" yelled Snape also standing up.   
  
Grown up Talitha ushered Harry back to the carriage where James and his friends were. They could hear Talitha and Snape screaming at each other even though they were three carriages away.  
  
"That's Tali" James said as he jumped up and pulled his wand out. He ran down the train towards the shouting. Sirius had also jumped up. Harry followed them back. By the time they got to the carriage, Sirius was in front of James. Harry could see Remus just behind. Snape was just about to hex young Talitha when Sirius yelled.   
  
"Expellerimus" and Snape's wand flew out of his hand, Snape tried to grab it back.   
  
"Impedimenta" Sirius yelled again and Snape fell to the ground.  
  
"What happened?" James asked. Young Talitha told him.  
  
"You!" James yelled at Snape "Leave my cousin alone or you'll have me to answer to"  
  
"Yeah, ignorant pig" young Talitha added.  
  
"Come on Tali, you come and sit with us away from this idiot"  
  
"Come on Dung" Talitha said and they all but Snape left the carriage.  
  
Grown up Talitha touched Harry's arm and he felt himself rising up. The next thing he knew he was back in Talitha's office.  
  
"So that was pretty much the start of James and Sirius hating Snape and Snape hating them. Although they weren't exactly friends to start with. From then on things between them just got worse. Snape used to pick on me to get at James, not that I didn't have a go back at him, but he was always reading Dark Arts books, he knew curses that some of the professors hadn't even heard of." Talitha told him  
  
"I can't believe I felt sorry for him when I saw my dad and Sirius teasing him"  
  
"Well now you know the full story, and I'm not saying it was all Snape's fault because they were all as bad as each other, maybe if James and Sirius didn't always have to try and get one over on him it would have all calmed down." Talitha told him.   
  
Harry stayed and chatted to Talitha for about half an hour and then, making the excuse that he had some homework to finish, he raced back to the Gryffindor common room to tell the others about Snape. 


	12. Chapter 12

Harry had his first Potions lesson of the year with Snape the next day in which Snape pointed out to the class, whilst looking directly at Harry, that if anyone fell behind in the work he would not hesitate to remove them from the course.  
  
When Harry and Hermione met Ron in the great hall for lunch Ron was beaming  
  
"McGonagal just asked me to be Gryffindor Quidditch Captain" He said excitedly. Harry grinned, although he would have loved to be captain, he knew Ron would do a much better job.  
  
"We're going to have try outs on Saturday" He continued "We need two new chasers"  
  
"Congratulations Ron, Charlie just told me your news." Talitha said as she was passing by "If you need any help just ask" she added quietly  
  
"Thanks" Ron replied  
  
"Harry, can I have a word please?" Talitha asked just as Draco Malfoy walked past  
  
"What have you been up to now Potter? Got another detention already" Malfoy sneered.  
  
"I don't think that's any of you're business, Mr. Malfoy" Talitha told him "That'll be 10 points from Slytherin for butting in" Malfoy just stood staring in amazement  
  
"And close your mouth Malfoy, you look like a fish" Talitha added as she walked off. Harry and Ron sniggered. Hermione stared hard at the book she had in front of her trying not to laugh. Harry got up and followed Talitha out of the hall. By the time he caught up with her she was laughing out loud  
  
"I can't believe you did that" Harry laughed  
  
"I couldn't resist" Talitha told him "Anyway, I just wanted to know how your Potions lesson went"  
  
"It was ok"  
  
"And Snape"  
  
"Well. He wasn't nice to me but no worse than he usually is" Harry told her.  
  
"Good. I'll see you this afternoon in class then"  
  
Harry headed back to the hall where Ron and Hermione were looking what lessons they had that afternoon.  
  
"It's got to be the best afternoon ever" Ron said "Care of Magical Creatures with Charlie and then Defence Against the Dark Arts"  
  
"Wait till you see what Charlie's got planned before you say that" Ginny called over "We had him this morning. He's nearly as bad as Hagrid in what he determines as dangerous"  
  
"What did you do in your lesson?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I'm not telling you, it'll spoil the surprise" Ginny laughed.  
  
"As long as it isn't Dragons" Harry said, thinking back to the Triwizard tournament.  
  
Ron, Harry and Hermione walked out into the grounds after lunch and down to Hagrids hut where they were to meet Charlie and the rest of their class. Charlie was there already waiting with a very large wooden crate.  
  
"Is it me or does that look big enough to hold a dragon" Ron asked Harry.  
  
"Don't say he's actually brought a dragon in. He is as bad as Hagrid" Harry replied.  
  
"At least we know that Charlie can handle a dragon" Hermione said.   
  
It turned out that the crate didn't contain a dragon but a griffin, a rare creature which is half lion and half eagle. Charlie went on to explain how Griffins are good protective creatures and they have the ability to see invisible creatures  
  
After the lesson they made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class room.  
  
"OK the last lesson was a bit of fun but today we are going to start on the serious stuff" Talitha told the class "Although this class is called Defence Against the Dark Arts, I think that the only way you can ever really defend yourself against something is by knowing as much as you can about it. So we are going to start this year by learning about dark magic, how it works and what sort of thing you are likely to see being used by Dark wizards. We will also look at counter-curses to these and also advanced curses and hexes. You need to be aware of what you might come across out there and be prepared for the worst" Nearly everyone in the class were looking round at each other partly excited about this and partly nervous.  
  
"Right if you can take out your Dark Arts books and turn to page nine we are going to look at the Astrangulare curse to start with." Talitha wrote the word on the blackboard while she continued talking "This is probably one of the worst curses there is that hasn't been classed as an unforgivable curse. There is however very heavy penalties for using it. Can any one tell me what it does?" Hermione's hand shot up. Talitha's back was still to the class.  
  
"Hermione" she said without looking round. Ron and Harry both let out a small laugh.  
  
"It's the choking curse" Hermione answered.  
  
"Exactly, when this curse is performed, the recipient will feel their throat tighten to a point where they can not breathe. This can result in death if it is performed for long enough. The counter-curse is Aspirare which allows you to breathe. Now who can tell me the main problem with this" Talitha glanced around the room "Ron"  
  
"Erm, you can't breathe"  
  
"Yes and"  
  
"So you, erm, can't say the counter-curse"  
  
"Spot on, so you have to say the counter-curse very soon after the curse has been put on you"  
  
At the end of the lesson Talitha set them their homework which was to read about the caecus curse which is used to blind someone. They left the classroom after the lesson unsure as to whether it had been exciting or scary.  
  
"Bloody Hell" Ron said as they walked done the corridor "She was starting to sound like Moody with all that preparing for the worst and everything"  
  
"Well she does seem to know Mad-eye quiet well so maybe she's been taking tips from him"  
  
"She's right though, we can't expect to be able to fight stuff we don't know about" Hermione added. 


	13. Chapter 13

The next day Harry went to Talitha's office for his Occlumency lesson as planned. He knocked on the door and walked in. Remus was there and Talitha looked upset.  
  
"Sorry, do you want me to come back later?" Harry asked. Talitha shook her head.  
  
"Harry, come and sit down" Remus told him  
  
"We found out something today Harry and I think you should know" Talitha said. Harry looked worried. Talitha smiled at him  
  
"It's nothing terrible" she reassured him "It's just come as a shock that's all"  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked  
  
"Dumbledore thinks he may have found a way to bring Sirius back"  
  
Harry started to speak but found he didn't know what to say  
  
"What? How?" he eventually managed to say.  
  
"Alastor captured Bellatrix Lestrange yesterday" Talitha told him. "He's been questioning her using Veritaserium, the truth potion"  
  
"We all thought she had used Avada Kedavra on Sirius" Remus continued "We thought that's why he had gone through the veil"  
  
"It turns out she only used Crucio. It must have been the pain that made him stumble backwards. He only fell through the veil Harry, he didn't die" said Talitha  
  
"So why didn't he come back through"  
  
"It's very complex, Harry. He couldn't just get up and walk back through. Someone has to go and get him and it isn't that easy. Even Dumbledore isn't sure exactly what needs to be done. He's still trying to figure it out."  
  
"Who is going to go?" asked Harry  
  
"We aren't sure yet. The problem is, if it goes wrong, the person who goes in may be stuck there as well" said Remus  
  
"And before you even think it, it won't be you" Talitha warned  
  
"But …" Harry started to say  
  
"Harry, it isn't something you can do. Even if you could, it's too much of a risk. Not just for you but for everyone" Talitha told him "We can't risk losing you like that. I hate to put it this bluntly but you are our only weapon against Voldemort"  
  
"Ok, I understand but can I at least help if possible"  
  
"I'm sure if there is anything you can do, Dumbledore will let you" said Remus  
  
"So who then?"  
  
"We've both volunteered Harry" said Remus "but Dumbledore has said no to that as well"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He doesn't want you losing anyone else Harry. At least at the moment you've got me and Remus" Talitha explained  
  
"And it won't be Dumbledore unless absolutely necessary"  
  
"It looks most likely that Moody will go but like Tali said, Dumbledore's still working out how to do it" said Remus  
  
"Harry, you mustn't get your hopes up though. This isn't something that will definitely happen. You must get on with school and everything" said Talitha   
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"And don't go telling everyone about it. Sirius' name hasn't been cleared yet. The Ministry will do everything they can to stop us doing this if they find out. Even if we manage it, Sirius will have to go back into hiding again until we can prove his innocence.  
  
When he got back to the common room, Harry looked around for Ron and Hermione. He needed to talk to them.  
  
"They went to the library" Ginny called over to him. She was sitting near the fire reading a book.  
  
"Oh" said Harry, sounding disappointed.  
  
"You can talk to me you know" said Ginny.  
  
"Ok but not here. Let's go for a walk" Harry replied. They walked around the school grounds and Harry told her all about Sirius. He never realized how easy Ginny was to talk to, she was a really good listener and she didn't interrupt like Ron and Hermione did. When they got back Harry decided to go to bed as he was exhausted. Ron was already in the dorm when he got there, He was telling Ron the news about Sirius when Hermione came bursting in.  
  
"Ginny just told me" she said excitedly "I can't believe it"  
  
"Calm down Hermione. It's only a possibility. I'm trying not to get too excited in case it never happens" Harry told her. Ron started laughing.  
  
"Harry you sounded just like Hermione then" He said. They all started giggling. 


	14. Chapter 14

The next few weeks went past quietly. Harry concentrated on his school work and Quidditch practice trying not to think about the possibility of Sirius' return as he didn't want to be disappointed if it came to nothing. There was no more news of developments except that Dumbledore was still working on a plan.  
  
One morning Harry and Hermione made their way to the Potions classroom not looking forward to another lesson with Snape only to find him not there. Talitha was standing at the front of the class.  
  
"Where's Professor Snape?" Draco demanded  
  
"As far as I know he will be unavailable for a few days, that's all I know" Talitha told the class. "Unfortunately he has been unable to leave any work for you to do so we are going to have a revision session. I have the instructions for six different potions here. I am going to hand them out and you will spend the rest of the lesson making the potion that I give you. You may work in pairs" Talitha walked around the class handing out the piece of parchment. She stopped in front of Harry and Hermione and shuffled through the pieces of parchment. She placed one on the table in front of them and muttered 'Wolfsbane' to them. Harry looked at her puzzled until Hermione nudged him and pointed to the piece of parchment where Talitha had written on the bottom.  
  
For Mooney  
  
After the lesson Harry and Hermione held back after everyone else had left.  
  
"Thanks for making that" Talitha said "I'm so busy at the moment because I'm taking Snape's classes as well as my own. I just haven't had time to make it and Remus is useless at making potions so it isn't even worth him making his own"  
  
"Why are you taking Snape's classes?" Hermione asked  
  
"I really don't know where he is" Talitha told them "Dumbledore just said he's had to go and do something for the Order at short notice"  
  
Three days later was the first Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Ron was nervous about his first match as captain  
  
"You're bound to win" said Hermione trying to reassure him "Charlie's refereeing"  
  
"Yeah but just because he's a Weasley and he was in Gryffindor doesn't mean he'll be biased towards us" said Ron  
  
"Charlie's very fair" added Ginny "He'll call it right down the middle"  
  
The Gryffindor team put on their robes and walked out onto the pitch. They now had Oliver Wood's younger brother Cameron and Seamus Finnagen as chasers along side Ginny.  
  
Harry glanced towards Ron who looked like he was going to sick. Harry smiled at him encouragingly as the Gryffindor crowd started chanting 'Weasley is our King'.  
  
Gryffindor easily won the match, Two hundred points to thirty. Harry catching the Snitch. Talitha and Hermione ran over to congratulate them.  
  
"I said you could do it" Hermione told Ron. Harry saw Professor McGonagal walking over to them  
  
"Congratulations everyone" she said and then spoke quietly to Talitha before returning to the castle.  
  
"Harry, Professor Dumbledore wants to see us straight away" She said  
  
"What about?" Harry asked as they made there way to Dumbledore's office  
  
"I don't know" Talitha answered  
  
"Do you think it's about Sirius?"  
  
"It might be, but don't get your hopes up just incase"  
  
"Maybe he's worked out how to get him"  
  
"Harry! Just wait till we get there"  
  
They reached the door to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Chocolate Limes" Talitha said and the door opened. Harry looked in the room and saw that Dumbledore wasn't there.  
  
"Maybe he's…" Harry didn't finish speaking because he saw someone standing at the window. Harry grabbed Talitha's arm as the man turned round. A smile crept to Talitha's face.  
  
"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled and ran towards him. Sirius threw his arms around them both. Harry could see that he was trying not to cry. Tears were falling down Talitha's face.  
  
"Merlin's beard! I don't believe it. You're really here" she said. Sirius looked even worse than he had before he had fallen through the veil. He was thinner and paler. The spark that was usually in his eyes had almost gone. Harry wouldn't have thought it possible for him to look this bad if he hadn't have seen it for himself.  
  
"Dumbledore didn't even tell us he had worked out how to get you back" Talitha said  
  
"I didn't want you worrying" a voice said from the door way. Harry and Talitha looked round and saw Dumbledore smiling.   
  
"How's Alastor?" Talitha asked  
  
"He'll be fine. He is in St. Mungo's at the moment but nothing serious. As is Severus"  
  
"Snape?"  
  
"Yes Harry, Professor Snape assisted Alastor in returning Sirius to us" Dumbledore explained "Now, I will leave you to catch up" he said and disappeared again.  
  
"Snape helped save you?" Harry asked again. Sirius nodded.  
  
"I don't think he really had a choice when Dumbledore asked him to. Dumbledore didn't want Moody going alone"  
  
"I'm so glad you're back" Harry told him.   
  
"I'm glad to be back" Sirius replied as he hugged Harry again. He then turned and hugged Talitha and then kissed her.  
  
"So what's happening now? Has Dumbledore said?" Harry asked  
  
"I'm to stay in the hospital wing for now. Dumbledore says I'm not to go anywhere until my health improves"  
  
"So we can come and see you every day?" asked Harry  
  
"Yeah" replied Sirius "but remember I'm still in hiding so be careful what you say to anyone"  
  
"Come on let's get you to Madam Pomfrey while everyone is in the great hall eating lunch."  
  
Harry and Talitha spent the rest of the day sitting at Sirius' bedside, Madam Pomfrey had put him in a private room. It was late in the evening when Talitha made Harry go back to Gryffindor Tower to get some sleep.  
  
"And no sneaking down here tonight with the invisibility cloak on. I'll find out" Talitha said to him as he left the hospital wing. Harry caught Sirius' eye and they both laughed.  
  
When Harry reached the common room it was very noisy. The Gryffindors were still celebrating their Quidditch victory.  
  
"Where have you been?" Ron yelled to him  
  
"Get Ginny and come up to the dorm" Harry said as he looked round for Hermione. When they were all in the boys' dorm, Harry told them the good news.  
  
"Can we go and visit him?" Hermione asked  
  
"I'll ask tomorrow. He's very weak. We had to almost carry him to the Hospital wing but Madame Pomfrey says he'll be ok as long as he gets lots of rest"  
  
The next morning, as soon as he woke up, Harry ran down to see Sirius. Talitha was still there from the night before. She was asleep, lying on the bed next to Sirius. Harry stood at the door looking at them and smiled, it was good to see them both happy. Sirius opened his eyes and smile at Harry, his arm around Talitha. He looked a little better than the day before. Still pale and thin but he looked less tired and he looked a little less haunted. Harry went over and sat in the chair next to the bed.  
  
"She fell asleep about two o'clock this morning and I didn't want to wake her" Sirius whispered to him. Harry noticed that every time Sirius looked at Talitha the spark returned to his eyes.  
  
"Alright Padfoot" a cheery voice came from the door. Sirius looked round.  
  
"Moony. I wondered when you were going to put in an appearance" he smiled weakly  
  
"I would have been straight here yesterday if it weren't for the fact I was covered in hair and had a tail" Remus laughed. Harry noticed that Remus was also looking tired and pale.  
  
"That's not much of an excuse is it?" Sirius joked back.   
  
"You look terrible mate" said Remus  
  
"Not looking so good yourself" said Sirius  
  
"You two are terrible" Talitha smiled sleepily as she woke up. Harry laughed. A small cough came form the doorway.  
  
"Can we come in?" asked Hermione "Madam Pomfrey said it was ok as long as we didn't make too much noise" Ron and Ginny were standing behind her.  
  
"That depends if you've brought any chocolate with you" Sirius replied. Ron grinned and held up a big bar of Honeydukes best chocolate.  
  
"In you come then"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N sorry had to do bring him back as he's my favourite character! 


	15. Chapter 15

The following week Harry and Talitha spent every moment outside of lessons with Sirius.  
  
On Monday, Talitha was walking down the corridor on her way to see Sirius at lunchtime when she saw Snape walking along the corridor towards her. It was the first time she had seen him since Sirius had returned. He must have just got back from St. Mungo's. He was limping slightly.  
  
"Ok keep calm, you know what you have to do" she said to herself.  
  
"Good Morning Professor Snape" She forced a smile at him "Can I speak to you please?" She said glancing towards an empty classroom. Snape nodded. They both went into the classroom  
  
"Severus. I want to give you my greatest thanks for what you did." She said. Snape nodded again.  
  
"I also wanted to say that, although I don't think we will ever be friends after what happened in the past, can we at least try and be civil to each other? I spoke to Remus and Sirius last night about it and we think it's about time that all four of us grew up and put our school days behind us. We are all on the same side now and that is what is important"  
  
"I agree with you completely" Snape replied. Talitha thought she saw a small smile on his face. "I appreciate you saying this to me" he continued "I know it must have been hard for you. I apologise also"  
  
Talitha smiled at him and they shook hands.  
  
"McKenzie, I was wondering actually if I could have a word with you about one of the students" Snape added.  
  
Draco Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin House table after dinner that evening when Talitha walked up behind him.  
  
"Malfoy, my office, now please" she said  
  
"But I haven't done…"  
  
"Now Malfoy" Malfoy followed her sulkily through the castle. They entered her office and Talitha closed the door behind them.  
  
"I told you, I haven't done anything" Malfoy stated  
  
"I never said you had" Talitha replied "Now take a seat" Malfoy sat down in an armchair  
  
"Draco, I want to talk to you about your father"  
  
"I don't know where he is"  
  
"Let me finish, please. I want to talk to you about your father being a Death Eater. I'm worried about you going the same way. Your father, when he turns up, will try and get you to join Voldemort, of that I am sure. What I am not clear about Draco is you, I don't think you want to be a Death Eater. I don't think you don't want to kill people for no reason, I can tell that. I don't think you even believe in most of what your father does and says. I think that most of your hatred towards others, muggle-borns in particular, is just because that is what your father has taught you and you are desperate to please him"  
  
Malfoy remained silent  
  
"I'll take your silence to mean you at least don't completely disagree." Talitha continued.  
  
"Erm" Malfoy said, not really sure how to answer.  
  
"Draco, you don't have to please your father. I know it would be very hard to go against him but it's important that when you need to you make the right decision" Talitha smiled at him warmly. "I want to help you Draco. Do you understand what I'm saying?"  
  
Malfoy nodded.  
  
"Just think about what I have said Draco. Your father is bad news and he's just going to drag you down with him if you don't put a stop to it"  
  
Ron and Hermione sat talking in the common room while Harry had gone to visit Sirius  
  
"It's so obvious they like each other" Hermione said.  
  
"We just need to find a way to get them together" Ron replied. Hermione nudged him as Ginny made her way over to where they were sitting. Ron changed the subject quickly and started talking about Charlie's latest creature that he had got for his class. Ginny sat down and looked at them both suspiciously. A few minutes later Harry joined them.  
  
"Erm, Hermione, can you have a look at that charms homework with me" Ron said suddenly.  
  
"What charms… oh yeah right. Let's go down to the library" She replied. Ron and Hermione stood up and left.  
  
"Was it something I said?" Harry grinned. Ginny laughed.  
  
"I think they were trying to be subtle" she replied.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I think they're trying to set us up"  
  
"Me and you?" Harry felt himself going slightly red in the face as Ginny nodded. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Ginny, do you want to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Harry asked cautiously.  
  
"I'd love to" Ginny replied with a big smile on her face "Looks like their plan worked then" They both laughed. 


	16. Chapter 16

The weeks continued to fly past. Harry and Ginny spent the day together at Hogsmeade and Harry realized that he liked Ginny as more than just a friend. They visited Fred and George's shop Weasley's Wizarding Weasels which was packed full of Hogwarts students. Fred gave them a quick tour round when they had a quiet moment.  
  
Sirius' health continued to improve and soon he was getting bored with sitting in bed in the hospital wing. However, he had no choice but to continue to do so as he was still too weak to do much else. Also, Talitha had threatened, only half joking, to do a full body bind curse on him if he so much as stepped out of the hospital wing.  
  
Christmas was looming and Harry was wondering where he would be spending it. He asked Talitha one night after they had been to see Sirius.  
  
"I think Sirius will be ok to leave the hospital wing by then" she replied "and Remus has invited us to stay with him for the holidays. That's if you want to of course"  
  
Harry grinned. He could think of nowhere better to spend Christmas than with Sirius, Talitha and Remus.   
  
Talitha, Sirius and Harry arrived at Remus' house two days before Christmas. Remus had gone a bit over board on the decorations as he didn't very often have guests for the holidays.   
  
"What did you do, break into Santa's grotto and nick them all?" Sirius laughed.  
  
"I didn't but I'm not so sure about Dung" Remus grinned back "He got me most of them. Did me a really good deal as well"  
  
"What buy one get fifty-six free"  
  
Christmas Eve morning, Talitha woke Harry up and told him to get dressed  
  
"Come on" she said excitedly "We've got shopping to do"  
  
Harry stumbled down the stairs half asleep to find Remus and Sirius trying to fit the biggest Christmas tree he'd ever seen through the back door.  
  
"Padfoot, stop pushing, it's stuck" Remus was yelling "It won't go any further" Remus started pushing it back outside. Harry looked out of the window and saw that Sirius was still pushing the tree as well. He started laughing. Talitha smirked and shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"I thought you were supposed to be the intelligent one Moony" she laughed as she pulled out her wand.  
  
"Reducio" The tree shrank to the size of an average Christmas tree. Sirius picked it up and carried it in.  
  
"Engorgio" Remus said pointing his wand at the tree once Sirius had put it in the living room.  
  
"Right, me and Harry are going to Diagon Alley, do you think you'll manage to decorate the tree on your own?" Talitha grinned.  
  
"As long as you buy us lots of nice presents" Sirius said as his kissed Talitha.  
  
"We'll see you two later, we may be some time" Talitha said as she passed Harry some floo powder.  
  
"That's the one reason why I'm glad I have to stay in the house" Sirius laughed "Going shopping with Tali is a nightmare. I'll be surprised if there's anything left in the shops after you've done". Harry laughed as Talitha stuck her tongue out at Sirius and then disappeared into the fireplace.  
  
Harry and Talitha arrived home from Diagon Alley late that day, their arms full of presents. Harry didn't think he had ever seen so many, not even Dudley got this many Christmas presents.  
  
Harry thoroughly enjoyed Christmas day and he received more presents than all of his other Christmas' put together. Talitha had even brought him some new muggle clothes so he didn't have to wear Dudley's old ones. It was the first time he could remember having new clothes, and ones that actually fitted him.  
  
"You shouldn't have got me all this stuff" he told Talitha.  
  
"I've got sixteen years to make up for, anyway I like buying you stuff".  
  
Harry had brought Sirius and Remus a large box of chocolate frogs each, after Talitha told him how much they used to like them.  
  
He realized his mistake on Christmas day afternoon when they spent 2 hours arguing about which cards they wanted to swap with each other. Sirius sulked for a full ten minutes because Remus wouldn't swap his Ludo Bagman for Sirius' Dumbledore.  
  
"But I've already got Dumbledore" Sirius insisted.  
  
"So have I" Remus replied "I've got three of him look" On saying this he rummaged in the back of a cupboard and pulled out the biggest collection of chocolate frog cards Harry had ever seen. He shuffled through them and produced three Dumbledore cards. This made Sirius laugh.  
  
"You're pathetic Moony" he grinned at Remus "Still having your chocolate frog cards at your age"  
  
"I don't know what you're laughing at" Talitha said with a smile "Yours are still back at the flat. And you must have put some sort of charm on them because every time I tried to move them they started screaming"   
  
Now it was Remus' turn to laugh. Harry was laughing as well mainly over the fact that Remus knew exactly how many of each card he had and which ones he didn't have.   
  
The next day the Weasley's came to visit them. Mrs. Weasley gave Harry his usual jumper. Harry noticed that all of the Weasley brothers were wearing one of Mrs. Weasley's jumpers, even Charlie and Bill. They were all in a variety of colours, all with the first letter of their name on. Harry and Ron had to force themselves not to laugh when Mrs. Weasley gave Sirius and Remus their own jumpers. Talitha made them put them on and Harry took a photo of them grinning madly, wearing a big R and a big S. 


	17. Chapter 17

Before Harry knew it, it was time to go back to Hogwarts. Sirius was going to stay at Remus' now he was well enough not to need to be in the hospital wing. He promised to come and visit as often as he could.  
  
The new term continued in much the same way as the old one had ended, with the exception of no visits to Sirius. Talitha decided that now they had a bit more spare time they would continue with the Occlumency lessons which seem to have been forgotten about since Sirius' return.   
  
Harry arrived at her office for a lesson one evening to find Draco there. He was just leaving as Harry arrived.  
  
"What was he doing here?" Harry demanded when Draco had gone  
  
"Oh, erm, he was just asking about the homework I had set" Talitha replied.  
  
They spent the next hour practicing and each time Harry managed to block the spell after a few seconds. Talitha was making it harder and harder. Every time he managed to reverse the spell, he would get a brief glimpse of Talitha's memories before she turned it back on him. Harry felt exhausted by the time Talitha suggested stopping.  
  
"I think you've just about got it now" She told him. Harry grinned proudly. Talitha had told him previously how hard Occlumency actually was and that not many people could actually do it.  
  
"We'll keep practicing now and then but I don't think you need anymore actual lessons. Just make sure you clear your mind before you go to sleep" Harry nodded. He hadn't had any dreams about Voldemort since Talitha had been teaching him.  
  
"How's potions going?" She continued  
  
"Fine" Harry said "Snape's not really being horrible to me anymore"  
  
"That's good."  
  
"Well he isn't be nice to me either but I suppose it's a start"  
  
A few weeks later and the Gryffindor Quidditch team were preparing for their next match, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Harry woke up early on the morning of the match with a pain in his scar. He hadn't felt anything in it since Talitha had been teaching him Occlumency, he would mention it to her later. Harry rubbed his head until the pain eased and then got up to find that Ron was already awake They got dressed and went down to Breakfast early and although Ron was feeling nervous, he was more confident than their last match. The team all sat together at the Gryffindor table at breakfast. Ron was encouraging them all to eat but Harry noticed that Ron didn't actually eat anything himself. Talitha came over to wish them luck.  
  
"I just thought I'd let you know that Remus will be coming to watch and he's bringing his dog" she told Harry, Ron and Ginny. Harry smiled.  
  
The team set of for the Quidditch pitch together. They went into the changing rooms and put on their scarlet and gold robes. Ron gave them a pep talk and soon it was time for them to go out onto the pitch. Harry looked up into the crowd and spotted Talitha and Remus standing with Hermione. A large black dog sat at Talitha's feet. Harry nudged Ron and pointed them out to him.  
  
The team all mounted their brooms and took off.  
  
"Good luck Ginny" Harry shouted as he flew past her. It must have worked because within 2 minutes of the match starting Ginny had scored. Ten minutes later Ginny had scored two more and Seamus had scored one. Ron made a spectacular save which even he seemed amazed by. Harry suspected that he hadn't planned it. Four more Gryffindor goals and one to Hufflepuff, then Harry saw something glistening on the other side of the pitch, it was the snitch. Harry glanced around quickly, Mark Hunter, the Hufflepuff seeker hadn't seen it. Harry's broom sped up as he shot toward the snitch, Hunter saw him go and followed but Harry broom was faster and he had set off first. Hunter wasn't even in reaching distance when Harry closed his hand around the snitch. The Gryffindor crowd cheered loudly as Harry flew round the pitch holding the snitch in the air. He looked around as he did and noticed the black dog running up and down the side of the pitch, barking madly. Harry touched down on the ground and Ginny ran over to him and hugged him.  
  
"We won" she was shouting.  
  
"You played brilliantly" Harry told her. Ron came over to join them.  
  
"Nice one Captain" Harry said. Ron was beaming. Suddenly Harry stumbled over him as the black dog jumped up on him and knocked him over. Ron and Ginny laughed.  
  
"Get of me Snuffles" Harry laughed as the dog licked his face. Talitha, Remus and Hermione had come over as well.  
  
"I think you better take your dog to my office for a drink of water Remus" she laughed. She turned to Harry "We'll see you up there" she said. They all turned and walked back up to the castle as Ron, Ginny and Harry went to get change.  
  
When they reached Talitha's office Snuffles had transformed back into Sirius.  
  
"I thought Snuffles wasn't allowed out any more" Ginny said  
  
"We'll everyone thinks I'm dead, so the ministry wouldn't think it's me, neither will the Death Eaters" Sirius said.  
  
"You looked so funny running up and down" Ron said "I almost fell of my broom because I was laughing. Especially when Colin started throwing sticks for you"   
  
During the next week the Gryffindors enjoyed taunting the Slytherin about how they were winning in the house cup. Harry noticed that Malfoy was quieter than usual and hardly commented back when anybody mentioned Quidditch to him. By Friday the novelty was wearing off and the students were looking forward to their Hogsmeade visit the next day.  
  
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A/N: Keep reading the next few chapters are going to be very exciting. I might post one or more tonight. Not sure yet. I will if I get them ready. Please keep reading and reviewing 


	18. Chapter 18

OOOOppps! I messed up on posting chapter 15 and 16 but I've corrected it now  
  
Review comments  
  
Lilyskylo - thanx! Sirius is my fave character so I had to do it  
  
freakyfairy - Keep reading  
  
milky way bar - thanx! I'll be posting more soon  
  
katclaws - thank you, thank you, thank you  
  
i love red heads - you've made me all embarrassed now. Thank you for the great commetn  
  
lily evans potter black lupin - keep reading!  
  
crazylittlebumblebee - what a great comment. I'm updating very regularly  
  
Inkling - Long live padfoot  
  
serpena - I'm not picking on Snape honest. I've got nice stuff planned for him as well. just keep reading  
  
Sorry if I missed any one  
  
I couldn't resist posting this next chapter as this is where it all starts getting exciting!!!  
  
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Later that evening Talitha found Snape in his office marking essays. She tapped on the door and went in.  
  
"Severus, Alastor Moody has just come to see me. He's got some information on the whereabouts of some of the Death Eaters" She told him. "We're having a meeting in my office"  
  
He nodded and then stood up to follow her. They walked back to Talitha's office as Talitha told him quietly what Moody had already told her.  
  
When they reached Talitha's office, Alastor Moody and Charlie Weasley were already there waiting. Remus arrived not long after and closed the door behind him. Suddenly Sirius appeared from under the invisibility cloak which he had used to walk through the school without being seen. Snape and Sirius looked directly at each other, both waiting to see the others actions. It was the first time they had seen each other following Sirius' rescue. Sirius took the lead and held his hand out to Snape. Snape gave a small polite smile and shook Sirius hand. Neither spoke but they both understood that they had called a truce.  
  
"So what's this all about?" Remus asked.  
  
"Alastor's got some important news" Talitha said as she looked towards Moody, prompting him to continue.  
  
"We've found where the Death Eaters are hiding, although there is no information as yet as to whether Voldemort is there as well. It does seem unlikely but most of his important followers are there though." Moody told them.  
  
"Where?" asked Snape  
  
"Godric's Hollow" Alastor replied. Everyone looked shocked.  
  
"Going on their location, it looks like they are planning something big but like I said, it doesn't look like Voldemort is there."  
  
"So we might be able to stop them before they do anything" Talitha suggested  
  
"Exactly my plan" replied Alastor "However the Ministry will not agree to anything without good evidence on what the Death Eaters are planning. We don't have time to go looking for evidence. We know where they are and we know they are up to something, so I think we should go and get them now" The others all nodded in agreement. "Tonks is going to round up as many of the others as possible and meet us there as soon as they can but we have to get there straight away."  
  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Harry came charging in, followed by Ron. Ginny, Hermione and Neville stood outside.  
  
"Do you know where Charlie is?" Ron asked "We need some help with..." Ron and Harry both looked up to find six pairs of eyes looking at them.  
  
"Oh, sorry" Ron muttered.   
  
"What's going on?" Harry asked. Talitha ushered the five students inside and explained quickly what had happened.  
  
"We'll come as well then" Harry replied  
  
"Oh no. I don't think so Harry" Talitha told him.  
  
"But we could do with more people" Sirius started. Talitha turned and glared at him.  
  
"Well you aren't coming either" She said  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"Says me. Since when does 'do not leave the house' include going all the way to Godric's Hollow and fighting Death Eaters. It's too dangerous for Harry and you aren't strong enough yet. For Merlin's sake Sirius, it was an effort for you to get here from Moony's. You aren't going to be any good to us if you get to Godric's Hollow and collapse. Alastor and Severus risked there lives to get you back"  
  
"I'm still coming" Sirius replied determinedly, his tone sounding similar to that of a sulking child.  
  
"I can't believe you are making me have to do this" Talitha said with a sigh.  
  
"What?" Sirius asked  
  
"Petrificus totalus" Talitha said as she pointed her wand at Sirius, casting the full body bind charm on him. "He'll be fine, it'll wear off in an hour or so" she said to Harry.  
  
"Ok, let's go then" Harry replied  
  
"I told you, you aren't coming either"  
  
"But why? You're letting the others"  
  
"It's not safe for you Harry. We can't risk anything happening to you and we haven't decided about the others yet"  
  
"I'm coming" Harry insisted. Talitha looked at him and smiled.  
  
"I'm sorry Harry, I haven't got time to argue about this" Talitha performed the body bind charm on him as well. Hermione smiled at Neville slightly as she remembered doing the same to him in their first year at Hogwarts.  
  
"Right as for the rest of you, I'm not sure what we should do. I don't think fighting Death Eaters fits can be counted as a class field trip." Talitha said.  
  
"Well Sirius was right in a way, we could do with more people" Remus said.  
  
"But their parents" Talitha answered.  
  
"Well, I'll vouch for Ron and Ginny" said Charlie "They'll be my responsibility. Mum and Dad can blame me if anything happens"  
  
"And you know they'll just find a way to follow us anyway" Remus added  
  
"OK, you can all come but you stick with one of us. You don't go off on your own"  
  
"How are we going to get there?" Ginny asked.  
  
"We'll apperate" Moody answered.  
  
"But we can't" Ron told him.  
  
"Talitha, Lupin and I can apperate and transport someone with us" Moody replied. "You just need to hold on to one of us"  
  
"But no one can apperate inside Hogwarts" Hermione protested.  
  
"No but you can from just outside the gates" Talitha replied  
  
There was another knock on the door. Remus opened it to find Malfoy standing there. He looked straight at Talitha.  
  
"I heard you telling Professor Snape" He said "I want to help"  
  
"WHAT?" shouted Ron and Hermione.  
  
"You were right" Malfoy continued "I don't believe in most of the things my dad does. I want to help you all fight the Death Eaters.  
  
"Are you serious?" Ron demanded.  
  
"Draco, are you sure?" Talitha asked him, ignoring Ron's outburst "Being against your fathers beliefs is one thing. Fighting against him is another." Draco nodded solemnly.  
  
"It's all I have been thinking of for weeks" He said quietly. Draco looked around and saw Sirius and Harry for the first time.  
  
"Is that Sirius Black?" He asked. Talitha nodded. Draco looked at them with a puzzled expression on his face when he realized Harry and Sirius weren't moving.  
  
"Don't ask" Remus said   
  
"We have to get going" Moody interrupted. They all left and set of for the school gates. They stopped just outside.  
  
"Charlie and Severus you go and we'll meet you there shortly" Moody said  
  
Crack  
  
"Right, Ginny and Hermione hold on to me" Remus said. They each grabbed one of his hands. They all disappeared.  
  
"Neville, you go with Alastor" Talitha said  
  
Crack  
  
Talitha held onto Draco and Ron's arms.  
  
Crack 


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry about the mess up in posting the chapters. I got so carried away trying to get them up I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. They're all sorted now I think.  
  
Thanks for all the great commentss. You all made my day. I haven't got timeto answer each one sorry but keep them coming it's really encouraging.  
  
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They arrived in a deserted field on the outskirts of the small village which was Godric's Hollow. The others were all waiting. Moody was organizing them into pairs.  
  
"Ginny and Charlie, Hermione and Remus, Neville you go with Talitha, Draco you with Severus, Ron you come with me" He told them  
  
"And you stay together" Talitha added.  
  
They walked as a group into the village, it seemed to be deserted. They knew this was because it was late at night and most muggles would be at home with the curtains closed.   
  
"It's unlikely all the Death Eaters will be together but if they are and you find them, send red sparks into the air. If you're in trouble do green sparks" Moody told everyone as they split of into their pairs to go their separate ways.  
  
Neville and Talitha walked down a small side street, wands at the ready. They weren't speaking as they were listening out for any sounds that might alert them to the Death Eaters. Talitha put her hand out in front of Neville and stopped him. She had heard something. They both stepped into the shadows. A woman wearing dark witches' robes crossed over the street. Talitha recognized her instantly even though she had not seen her for a number of years. The woman continued walking down the street away from them.  
  
"She didn't see us" Talitha whispered to Neville. They followed her stealthily down the street. Neville praying to himself that he wouldn't fall over or do something clumsy. They were heading back out of the village now. Keeping in the shadows they followed her. The woman suddenly disappeared through a hedge at the side of the road. Talitha and Neville saw her appear again the other side and continue across the field. When they reached the same point of the hedge, Talitha slipped through the gap that was there and Neville followed.  
  
"Where is she going?" Neville whispered  
  
"There's a farm on the other side of this field. She's probably heading towards there" Talitha said in a voice that Neville could only just hear. Talitha was right. As they got near the other end of the field a few farm buildings came into view, although they looked to be disused. They saw the witch disappear into what looked like an old barn. Talitha and Neville crept up to the side of the barn and Talitha tried to look through a crack in the door. She pulled Neville away from the barn so she could whisper to him without being heard.  
  
"It looks like she's alone" she told him  
  
"What are we going to do?" Neville asked nervously.  
  
"We're going to give her a little surprise" Talitha answered. She told Neville the plan. He nodded to show he understood and then they crept back to the door.  
  
Neville opened the door as quietly as he could and they both slipped inside. The witch sat with her back to them, her wand was on a bale of hay a few feet from her. The only light was from an old oil lamp in the corner. Talitha pointed to the witches' wand and nodded to Neville as she pointed her own wand at the witch.  
  
"Accio wand" Neville yelled. The wand flew towards him as the witch spun round to see what was happening. Neville tucked the wand in his belt.  
  
"Hello Bellatrix" Talitha said.  
  
Draco and Snape had gone in the opposite direction to Talitha and Neville and soon found themselves at the entrance to a grave yard. They turned and looked at each other. Draco nodded, Snape smiled as he put his hand on Draco's shoulder to reassure him.  
  
"Let's do it" Draco said. Snape opened the gate and they both entered the grave yard. They walked along cautiously, looking around for signs of Death Eaters. They had walked around the whole grave yard when they got back to the gate. Snape was just about to suggest going else where when they heard a familiar voice behind them.  
  
"Coming to join us then" a man said.  
  
Draco turned round slowly to find himself face to face with his father.  
  
Back at Hogwarts, Sirius and Harry were both slowly coming round from the body bind charm.   
  
"I can't believe she did that" said Sirius as soon as he could talk again, he was angry now. He was even more frustrated because he hadn't yet completely regained the use of his arms and legs, so when he tried to stand up he fell over again.  
  
"I guess she did have a point" said Harry "you are still quite weak"  
  
"I don't care. Do you think I'm going to sit here while she goes off putting herself in danger and I can't do anything about it?"  
  
Harry grinned at him  
  
"What?" Sirius asked  
  
"I just never thought I'd see you get so worked up about a girl" Harry smiled. Sirius grinned back.  
  
"Come on, we've got to get to Godric's Hollow" He said.   
  
Harry went to open the door and found it locked  
  
"Alohomora" he said pointing his wand at it. He tried the door again but it was still locked.  
  
"She didn't want us getting out then" Harry said with a hint of sarcasm.  
  
"Stand out of the way, there's only one way to open that door" Sirius said. Harry stood back, expecting to see some advanced spell. Sirius ran at the door with his shoulder. Two more attempts and he had broken the door open.  
  
"Still too weak am I" he chuckled. Harry ran up to the dorm and got his and Ron's brooms and the Marauders map. When he got back to Talitha's office, Sirius threw the invisibility cloak over himself and Harry and they crept out of the door and through Hogwarts, using the map to guide them. Once they were safely out of the Castle they mounted the brooms and kicked off.  
  
"Follow me" Sirius said to Harry.  
  
Hermione and Remus had almost reached the other side of the village when they heard voices coming from behind a fence.  
  
"That's the park" Remus whispered. Hermione peered through a small hole in the fence.  
  
"There's three of them" she whispered to Remus. Remus glanced around him.  
  
"We can't take on three can we?" Hermione asked. Remus continued looking round, as he put his finger to his lips to tell Hermione to keep quiet. He then beckoned her to follow him. They walked over to the next street where they found Moody and Ron.  
  
"Good hearing" Remus whispered to Hermione "one of the benefits of my condition. I could hear them from the park"  
  
The four of them walked quietly back to the park. Moody, Ron and Hermione walked down to the park gate. Remus raised his wand and sent stunning spells over the fence at the three Death Eaters. At the same time, the other three ran through the gates with their wands ready. Two of the Death Eaters were lying on the floor stunned by Remus' spells. Hermione recognized them as Rookwood and Dolohov. The other one, who was still standing, wasn't familiar. This third Death Eater pulled out his wand, but before he had chance to do anything with it, Moody beat him to it.  
  
"Avada Kedavra" Moody yelled. A flash of green light shot from Moody's wand. The Death Eater dropped immediately to the floor. Ron and Hermione gasped in shock, partly due to the effect of the spell and partly because Moody had used it.  
  
"It's ok" Remus said "Aurors have special permission to use it if necessary"  
  
The other two started to come round. Moody hit Dolohov with another stunning spell but allowed Rookwood to regain consciousness.  
  
Rookwood started to stand up when Ron noticed him go for his wand. A jet of light came out of Rookwood's wand. It looked like it was aimed at Moody but due to Rookwood's still partly stunned state, it missed and hit Hermione's leg. She fell to the floor.  
  
"Expellerimus" Remus shouted and disarmed Rookwood. Ron ran over to Hermione.  
  
"I'm ok" she told him "In pain but I'm ok"  
  
Moody waited a few seconds.  
  
"Hope it was worth it" he growled at Rookwood and then hit him as well with Avada Kedavra.  
  
Dolohov was stirring again, this time Moody let him come round  
  
"What is Voldemort planning" Moody demanded looking straight into Dolohov's eyes.  
  
"Erm…I don't…" Dolohov began stuttering. He still had his wand in his hand but had obviously not thought to use it.  
  
"You're lying" Remus shouted "you're one of Voldemort's top men and you say you don't know what he's up to"  
  
"I don't" Dolohov started again "He told us all to gather here and keep well hidden. That's all I know"  
  
"Hugh!" Moody muttered "Well, if that's all you know then you aren't much use to me" Moody lifted his wand again  
  
"Avada"  
  
"Wait" Dolohov interrupted "It's something to do with the Potters old house but I swear to you I have no idea what"  
  
Moody nodded and pointed his wand again at Dolohov. Ropes shot out of the end and tied themselves around Dolohov's arms.  
  
"Hermione can you walk" Moody asked. Hermione nodded and with Ron's help she stood up.  
  
"Remus, you and Ron go ahead to the Potter's house. We'll bring Dolohov and meet you there" Moody said gesturing to himself and Hermione.  
  
Ron and Remus ran off in front as they heard Moody shout 'Walk' at Dolohov. 


	20. Chapter 20

A/N   
  
This one is a bit of a cliffhanger. I will post the rest tomorrow. Promise!  
  
Mella deranged - keep reading it's all explained later (Not this chapter though)  
  
Angelgurl - I read your fanfic and sent in a review!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Well" said Lucius Malfoy to his son "I said are you going to join us?"  
  
"Never" Draco yelled. Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it at Lucius.  
  
"So you've joined the other side have you?" Lucius asked his son. Draco didn't answer. Lucius slowly and deliberately pulled out his wand and pointed it at Snape,  
  
"So the traitor returns" He said calmly. He looked at Draco and then back at Snape. "Expellairmus" he said and Snape's wand left his hand and fell on the ground.  
  
"Now we'll have some fun" Lucius laughed evilly "Crucio" He pointed his wand at Snape who keeled to the floor from the pain, his head hitting a large rock as he did. Lucius continued laughing and didn't see Draco pull out his own wand.  
  
"Impedimenta" Draco shouted. His father dropped to the floor.  
  
"Expellairmus" Draco pointed his wand again and Lucius' wand also fell to the ground.  
  
"Draco, son, think what you're doing" Lucius said as he pulled himself to his feet again. He was starting to sound a bit nervous now.  
  
"Shut up!" Draco yelled "I don't want to listen to a low life scumbag like you any more"  
  
"But"  
  
"I said Shut up! Petrificus totalus!" Lucius' arms snapped to his sides and he fell on the floor unable to move.  
  
Snape was starting to stand now. He reached over and grabbed his own wand.  
  
"Good work Draco" He said as he shot ropes out of his wand to tie Lucius up.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Sirius and Harry arrived in Godric's Hollow. Harry looked around. So this is where his parents had lived.  
  
"This way Harry, I know exactly where we are going" They walked through a few streets until they came to a large house set back from the road, quite away from any other houses.  
  
Harry followed Sirius up to the front door. The door was slightly open. Sirius pushed it and they both stepped inside. Sirius set both of the brooms down beside the door.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Talitha!" Bellatrix said in surprise  
  
"You weren't expecting to see me, now were you?" Talitha said with a small laugh. Bellatrix remained silent.  
  
"I think you owe Neville here an apology for what you did to his parents" Talitha said. Bellatrix glared at Talitha and then at Neville.  
  
"Your call Bellatrix, you can do it by choice or I could make you" Neville glanced at Talitha. He wasn't sure who was scaring him the most at the moment. The woman who had all but killed his parents or Harry's godmother who up until today he thought was funny and kind. He was seeing a different side to her now. She was still brilliant but just a bit scary now. Bellatrix still didn't speak.  
  
"Imp…" Talitha started, but before she had finished the curse, Bellatrix fell to her knees and started to beg forgiveness from Neville for what she had done to his parents. Talitha noticed Neville go very white and looking very uncomfortable.  
  
"Ok that's enough" She said to Bellatrix. Bellatrix stopped talking and looked directly at Talitha  
  
"I suppose this is because of what I did to that idiot cousin of mine. Well he's better off where he is. He was a disgrace to our family" she spat  
  
"He still is a disgrace to the Black family" Talitha laughed. Bellatrix looked at her. "That's right" Talitha continued "Sirius is back. You didn't kill him remember. As painful as the Crucio curse is, it doesn't kill someone. No, you need something more powerful than that" Bellatrix's head fell as if she knew what was coming next.  
  
"Avada Kedavra" Talitha shot the green light from her wand and Bellatrix was dead. Talitha heard Neville crying and ran over to hug him.  
  
"It's all over now Neville" she said softly "She's gone". After a few minutes they headed back inside just in time to see some red sparks shoot up into the sky. They started running back towards the village.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Talitha and Neville reached the spot where the sparks were coming from. Charlie, Remus, Ron and Ginny were there waiting for them.  
  
"What's happened?" Talitha asked  
  
"Harry and Sirius are here" Remus told her.  
  
"I saw them go in there! Ginny added. Talitha looked to where Ginny was pointing. She had only just realized where she was.  
  
"Oh Merlin. No, not here" Talitha said quietly. Remus explained what Dolohov had said and just as he finished doing so Moody walked round the corner with Dolohov. Hermione limped behind him. Ron ran down to them. He picked Hermione up and carried her back to the others.  
  
"Wormtail's in there" Hermione told them "Dolohov just said"  
  
Talitha and Remus looked at each other.  
  
"Looks like it's time for the remaining Marauders to meet again"  
  
"Do I get to be a Marauder at last?" Talitha asked with a grin. Remus nodded as some green sparks shot up in the air not far from where they were.  
  
"I'm on it" Moody shouted as he ran off in the direction of the grave yard, his wooden leg clumping as he did.  
  
"Ron you look after Hermione. Neville keep an eye on Dolohov, keep your wand pointed at him and stun him if he tries anything. Charlie, get word to your dad to get Fudge here straight away. Ginny you come with us" Talitha stated. Everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
Remus, Talitha and Ginny set of up the steps to the house. 


	21. Chapter 21

They crept through the front door. Talitha glanced around, it was years since she was last here, the Potter's house where she had grown up. She smiled slightly when she saw the two brooms next to the door, as that was where she and James used to leave them when they came in from playing Quidditch. Remus noticed a light was shining through the cellar door, he looked at Talitha and pointed downwards. Talitha headed to the cellar door and opened it. One by one they went down the stairs.  
  
To their relief they found Sirius and Harry looking back at them, unharmed. Ginny ran over and hugged Harry.  
  
"We've search the whole house and we've found nothing" Sirius told them quietly "I was sure this would be the place"  
  
"There's just that room there" Harry added pointing to a door opposite the stairs. Talitha knew that the other side of the door was just another small cellar room but they had to check it just incase.  
  
"You two stay back" Sirius said to Ginny and Harry. Remus opened the door and the three adults went in.   
  
Nobody heard the footsteps on the cellar steps. Sirius, Remus and Talitha were in the other room. Ginny and Harry had their backs to the steps.  
  
"James? Lily?" a small voice said. Harry whipped round with his wand out.  
  
"Wormtail" He said calmly.  
  
"I thought you were James" Wormtail said quietly "And the girl looks just like Lily"  
  
"My parents are dead, remember!" Harry yelled at him. Sirius came back into the room.  
  
"What are you doing here Wormtail?" Sirius demanded.  
  
"Sirius!" I thought you were…"  
  
"Well you thought wrong didn't you"  
  
"Answer the question Wormtail" Remus shouted as he also came through the door "What are you doing here?"   
  
"I erm…I" Peter tried to say.  
  
"Still a bumbling idiot then Wormtail" Talitha said from the shadows.  
  
"Talitha" Peter stuttered. Harry noticed Wormtail looked even more scared now he knew Talitha was there, if it was possible for him to look more scared.  
  
"Well, we're waiting" Sirius demanded.  
  
"My master sent me here" Peter managed to say.  
  
"How dare you come in this house after what you did?" Sirius shouted. Suddenly Talitha started laughing. Harry and Ginny looked at her, puzzled as to why.  
  
"Look around" she said to no one in particular. "It's like having the old gang back" Sirius and Remus smiled.  
  
"Only, although Harry and Ginny might look like James and Lily" Talitha continued "I somehow don't think they are going to tell us to be nice to Peter like they would"  
  
"Look what you did to thank James for his friendship Peter" Remus added calmly "Look what you did to all of us here. Sirius has spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit and then another 3 years on the run, Talitha had to almost go into hiding in another country because everyone thought she had helped him, I've had to live with the thought that I didn't really know two of my best friends. Harry had to grow up an orphan. On top of that we all had to live with the grief of losing James and Lily. All because of you Wormtail"  
  
"You've escaped me twice now Wormtail" Sirius told him as he pointed his wand at Wormtail "and I'm not going to let it happen again. Finally, I'm going to commit the crime I served twelve years for"  
  
"Sirius no!" Talitha yelled at him "Fudge is on his way here. We can prove your innocence at last"  
  
"He got away last time, Tali. I'm not risking that again"  
  
"Sirius, he won't" Talitha told him. She walked right up to Peter and looked him straight in the eye "If you as much as move, I'll kill you" she hissed "and don't think I won't. I've already done it to one of your friends tonight. Don't think I wouldn't be happy to do it again"  
  
Talitha saw Harry and Sirius looking at her wondering who.  
  
"Bellatrix" she told them as she turned and walked away from Peter. Wormtail had taken advantage of the distraction and started to go for his wand.  
  
"Expellerimus" Ginny yelled. Harry caught Wormtail's wand.  
  
"I don't trust him not to change" said Harry. Talitha thought for a minute and nodded. She turned to face Peter  
  
"Imperio" she said calmly. Peter stood still.  
  
"Shall we go back outside" she said as she flicked her wand. Peter turned and started to walk slowly to the stairs under Talitha's control. He reached the stairs and suddenly he fell over the first step  
  
"Oops" Talitha laughed. Sirius laughed loudly. Harry and Ginny looked at each other unsure of what to do. Remus glared at Sirius and then at Talitha.  
  
"Sorry" they both muttered.  
  
They reached the street without Wormtail falling again. However, Harry did notice Talitha made him do a little twirl at the top of the cellar steps when Remus wasn't looking.  
  
Moody had returned with Snape, Draco and a stunned and bound Lucius Malfoy. Snape's face was bleeding where he had caught it on a stone when he fell due to the Crucio curse. Harry stared at Draco wondering why he was there. Ron came running over to Harry.  
  
"What's he doing here?" Harry asked him. Ron explained. Harry looked at Draco again. He looked different, there wasn't the hate in his eyes that was usually there and it looked like he had been crying.  
  
"Moody just did, well I don't know what spell he did, on his dad. It must have been horrible the state Draco was in when they got back here" Ron whispered. "Draco had already done a body bind on him before Moody got there"  
  
Talitha sat Peter down next to the bound Dolohov. The adults gathered together to decide what to do next. Ron, Ginny and Harry went over to where Hermione sat on the floor with Neville. Draco sat nearby.  
  
"Won't they all get in trouble for doing the Avada Kedavra curse?" Ginny asked  
  
"Remus told us that Aurors are allowed to do it on Death Eaters" Hermione told them.  
  
"That's ok for Moody but what about Talitha" Ginny said.  
  
"Yeah she did it on Bellatrix" said Neville  
  
"And she's got Wormtail under Imperious" added Ron. None of them had seen Charlie come up behind them.  
  
"Didn't you know?" He asked "Talitha is an Elite" They all looked round at him  
  
"Elite's are the best and most powerful of the Aurors" Charlie continued "Moody's one of course. She did most of her training with him."  
  
"That's why Wormtail was so scared of her" Harry told the others. "He knew that she was allowed to kill him"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/n more to follow later today. By the way this is no where near the end of the story. There is still plenty more to come 


	22. Chapter 22

Harry looked along the road and saw six people walking towards them. Remus noticed them at the same time.  
  
"Looks like back up has arrived" he told the others.  
  
"The odd squad more like" Sirius laughed when he saw who it was  
  
"Wotcher" Tonks called out "I got as many as I could"  
  
"Sssshhhh!" another voice said.   
  
Next to Tonks was Kingsley Shacklebolt, then came Bill Weasley and Mundungus Fletcher followed up by Fred and George Weasley.  
  
"Good job we aren't in trouble with those lot to save us" Ron muttered under his breath. Harry laughed.  
  
Fred and George came over to them whilst the others joined the adults. The adults discussed what they should do next.  
  
"Tonks, Kingsley, Severus and Dung, you come with me." Moody said "We'll check the rest of the village" They set of down the road.  
  
"Sirius, you take the kids inside out of the way." Remus suggested "If Fudge sees you here, he'll have you back in Azkaban before we have chance to explain anything to him"  
  
"Come on you lot" Sirius shouted as he opened the Potters front door again. Harry and Ron helped Hermione up the stairs while Ginny held the door open. Draco and Neville followed silently behind, still partly in shock from what they had seen. Fred and George went over to the remaining adults.  
  
"You four" Talitha said to the oldest Weasley brothers "Can you collect up the bodies and bring them back here. Try not to be seen, although don't worry too much if you are. The Obliviators are going to have to come in a do a few memory charms anyway I'd imagine" Fred and Bill set of towards the grave yard, while George and Charlie headed towards the farm. That just left Talitha and Remus standing outside in the street.  
  
"You ok?" Remus asked.  
  
"Mmmm. Fine" Talitha answered as she sat down next to Wormtail and the stunned Dolohov. "It's just a lot to take in. We've been after these guys for such along time and now we've caught Voldemort's top four Death Eaters right here, in one night. Ok, two are dead but these two might be able to give us some answers about what he's up to"  
  
"Don't forget the other two" Remus said jokingly.  
  
"I bet not many Aurors have caught six Death Eaters in one night" Talitha laughed.   
  
"Yeah you and Moody did good"  
  
They both sat in silence for a few minutes until Fred and Bill returned with Rookwood and the unknown Death Eater floating behind them. Fred lowered his wand and dropped them next to Dolohov. Shortly after George and Charlie had returned with Bellatrix.  
  
"Come on Fudge" Remus muttered to himself  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Inside the house, Sirius showed Harry round the house while the others sat in the living room. A lot of the Potters belongings were still there.  
  
"I thought this house was destroyed when Voldemort killed my parents." Harry said.  
  
"This isn't where you all were that night" Sirius told him "This was your grandparent's house. You're mum and dad were living in a cottage on the other side of the village. That's the house that was destroyed. This is where James and Talitha grew up"  
  
"Who owns it now?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, officially it's yours" Sirius told him  
  
"Mine?"  
  
"Yeah, well it will be when you're eighteen. Until then it's in Talitha's name"  
  
"I've got a house?" Harry asked again. Sirius smiled at him.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"At last" Talitha said as she saw Cornelius Fudge and Arthur Weasley coming along the road towards them. Arthur went over to his sons.  
  
"What's going on here then" Fudge asked as he got to Talitha and Remus  
  
"We've caught you some Death Eaters" Talitha told him  
  
Fudge studied the six at the side of the road  
  
"Three dead" Remus told him "Lestrange, Rookwood and Jugson. Two stunned, Dolohov and Malfoy and I think you'll be interested in the sixth one"  
  
"Is that?" Fudge asked  
  
"Peter Pettigrew" Talitha confirmed   
  
"But he" Fudge started  
  
"Was killed fifteen years ago?" Remus interrupted "Actually he wasn't, as we tried to tell you a few years back. He's alive and well and until tonight loyally serving Voldemort"   
  
"I've got him under Imperious." Talitha told Fudge "He's an unregistered animagus and we don't trust him not to transform"  
  
"So that means that Black didn't kill him" Fudge sounded surprised. He walked over to where the Death Eaters were.  
  
"You know, I think he's got it" Remus muttered. Talitha grinned  
  
"Does that mean Sirius is cleared of all charges?" She called over to Fudge.  
  
"I believe it does" Fudge replied  
  
"And this will be made public knowledge and he'll get a full apology from the ministry?" Remus asked. Fudge nodded  
  
"I'll witness that" Arthur said smiling. Remus and Talitha hugged each other and then ran into the house to share the good news.  
  
"You're cleared!" They yelled at Sirius as soon as they got through the door  
  
"What?" Sirius asked, in disbelief.  
  
"Fudge is outside, he believed us once he saw Wormtail" Talitha said excitedly as she hugged Sirius. 


	23. Chapter 23

Once all the excitement had died down, Talitha and Remus went back outside. Moody, Dung, Tonks and Kingsley had arrived back.  
  
"We couldn't find any more" Kingsley told them.  
  
"Right" said Fudge, "We best get these away from here" he pointed to the six Death Eaters. Moody tied Wormtail up and as soon as Talitha took the Imperious curse off of him, Moody stunned him. Moody took hold of Wormtail and Dolohov.  
  
"I'll get these to Azkaban" He said and within seconds they had disappeared. Moody reappeared seconds later, grabbed Lucius Malfoy and disappeared again.  
  
"I'll leave you to sort out the other three" Fudge said to no one in particular and he disapperated as well.  
  
"Tonks, can you and Kingsley see to them. I need to get the kids back to Hogwarts" Talitha said "I'll take care of Ron and Ginny" she added to Arthur.  
  
"Come on you four" Arthur said to his oldest sons "You mother will be worried." The five Weasley's disappeared all at once.  
  
Talitha turned to Dung and Remus and hugged them both "see you in the Three Broomsticks tomorrow" she whispered to them "We've got some celebrating to do"  
  
They both grinned at her.  
  
"Severus, I'll see you back at Hogwarts" she called as she walked back up to the house  
  
"Ok, every one back to school, the fun's over" Talitha rummaged through a pile of stuff in the corner and pulled out some floo powder "I knew there would be some here somewhere" Sirius passed it round to every one. Talitha threw her handful into the fire place and stepped into the flames. Soon she was back in her office at Hogwarts. One by one the others appeared out of the fire until the last one, Sirius, appeared.  
  
"Ron, can you help Hermione up to the hospital wing please. Ginny, can you go and tell Professor Dumbledore that we are all back safe and that I'll be along to see him when I can?" Ginny left quickly as Ron helped Hermione out of the door.  
  
"You two stay here" Talitha told Harry and Sirius "Neville and Draco follow me"  
  
She led them over to the classroom opposite.  
  
"Are you both ok?" she asked them. The two boys nodded.  
  
"Neville, I want you to take this. It'll help you sleep and then go straight to bed ok" She said and handed Neville a small potion bottle. Neville smiled at her as he took it, he left he room.  
  
"Draco, I'm really proud of you. That was a very hard thing you did back there. Professor Snape told me what happened. Not many people would have the courage to do that."  
  
There was a quiet tap on the door and Snape appeared. Talitha beckoned him in.  
  
"What's going to happen to me?" Draco asked in a small voice "I can't see my mother wanting me home now"  
  
"We'll sort something out Draco" Snape said  
  
"Severus, can you take Draco back to his dorm, he needs to get some sleep" Snape nodded and put his arm around Draco's shoulder as he led him away.   
  
Talitha went back into her office. Harry and Sirius didn't see her coming in. She stood smiling as she watched them chatting about all the Quidditch matches they could go to now Sirius was cleared.  
  
"You won't be going to any matches" she told Harry "you're grounded for not doing as I told you and staying here" Harry looked at her and the smile fell from his face. Talitha looked from Harry to Sirius and then back to Harry. She started laughing  
  
"I'm only joking" she said "I'm not that mean" They were all still laughing when Ginny arrived back.  
  
"I told Dumbledore" she said.  
  
"Thanks Ginny" Talitha said  
  
"It's late, you two better get off to bed" Sirius told them. Talitha watched them as they left her office and they walked up the corridor. She waved at Sirius to come and look. He peered out of the door and saw Harry and Ginny walking hand in hand towards Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Looks like our godson's got himself a girlfriend" Sirius grinned.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius and Talitha headed off to Dumbledore's office where they found him waiting from them.  
  
"I hear congratulations are in order" He smiled. Sirius and Talitha were grinning madly. They both sat down and explained to Dumbledore the events of that evening.  
  
"So we've left a big dent in Voldemort's followers and Moody's hoping he might be able to get some more information out of Dolohov, Malfoy and Pettigrew once he's given them some Veritaserium." Sirius told him  
  
"And the students, how are they?" Dumbledore asked  
  
"Hermione's got a broken leg but she's with Madam Pomfrey right now. Ron and Ginny are fine. Neville's probably a bit shaken up after seeing Bellatrix again but I think he'll be fine. I'll talk to him tomorrow" Talitha said  
  
"Harry's fine as well, he's hoping he can come and live with us now" said Sirius hopefully.   
  
"We'll see" Dumbledore replied.  
  
"And it seems you were right about Draco. You were right to let him back this year and give him a chance. Although he's a bit worried now. He said his mother wouldn't want him home after this, which I suspect is true but I think the point is Draco doesn't want to go back to Malfoy Manor"  
  
"No, I don't think it would be a good idea for him to go back. I'll have to think about that one" Dumbledore said. 


	24. Chapter 24

The next day was a Saturday so everyone was free from lessons. After lunch Talitha headed up to the Gryffindor common room where she found Ron, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Neville in a quiet corner discussing what had happened the previous night. She went over and sat down next to them.  
  
"Have you heard any more about the Death Eaters?" Ron asked. Talitha shook her head.  
  
"Are you all ok?" she asked. They all nodded.  
  
"Come on then" Talitha said as she stood up. "We're all going to Hogsmeade to celebrate Sirius' freedom" They all followed her out of the common room.   
  
When they reached the Three Broomsticks pub Sirius, Remus and Dung were already there. The pub was full of Hogwarts students due to it being a Hogsmeade weekend. Remus and Sirius were sitting at a large table and Dung was at the bar.  
  
"I'll get 'em in" Dung called over as they walked through the door. They all sat down at the table and Dung came over with six Butterbeers and four Firewhiskeys.  
  
"Get them down ya necks then" he said.  
  
Everyone was laughing and joking. Talitha noticed that Neville seemed more confident than usual. She had expected him to be quieter after what he had seen last night but the death of Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to have come as a relief to him.   
  
"I'll get some more drinks" Talitha said   
  
They went over to the bar where Madam Rosmerta served her with a smile.  
  
"I bet you're glad to have him back" she said to Talitha as she glanced over to where Sirius was. Talitha nodded in agreement.  
  
"I was shocked when I read the news in the Daily Prophet this morning, even more surprised when those three walked in here at lunch time" Madam Rosmerta continued. Talitha collected the drinks and returned to the table and the celebrations continued.  
  
Talitha took the students back up to Hogwarts in time for dinner that evening, leaving Sirius, Remus and Dung in the pub.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Before dinner Harry went up to Talitha's office to talk to her.  
  
"Good news Harry" she said excitedly, when he came in the door "I just spoke to Professor Dumbledore and he's agreed that you can come and live with us in the summer. You'll have somewhere you can actually call home"  
  
"Cool" Harry replied "Erm…so where exactly will home be?"  
  
"Good point. I don't know exactly. We talked about it the other day and we had thought of going to live at the house in Godric's Hollow but after being there last night I don't know. I've not lived there since your grandparents died when I was eighteen."  
  
"Where did you live after that?"  
  
"I moved in with Sirius, in his flat, which he still has but it really isn't big enough for all of us. It only has one bedroom. In any case Sirius hasn't been there since before he went to Azkaban and I've hardly been there myself, too many memories. I've just really been using it to keep all my stuff and only going back there when I needed something."  
  
"What about Grimmauld Place?" Harry said, hoping this wouldn't be an option.  
  
"No, definitely not. Not with Mrs. Black's portrait" Talitha laughed "Anyway Sirius would never be happy there, not after his parents and then having to stay there all of last year. No, I suppose we'll have to find somewhere new."  
  
Harry sat in an armchair grinning, he was leaving the Dursleys!  
  
"Talitha, why didn't you tell me that you were an Elite?"  
  
"I couldn't Harry. The Ministry told me I couldn't tell anyone"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, let me start at the beginning. A few months after I finished my Auror training was the night Lily and James died. The Ministry decided that it didn't look too good having me working for them when I was supposed to be getting married to the man they hand just named as Voldemort right hand man, especially as I was defending him. Mr. Crouch was in charge of Magical Law Enforcement then and he was going to sack me. Luckily for me, Alastor had been my mentor throughout my training and he stuck up for me. He told them they would be losing one of the best Aurors they would ever have if they got rid of me. Eventually they came to a compromise that I could keep my job as long as no one knew that I was still working for the Ministry and because I loved my job so much I agreed. They sent me on jobs out of the country most of the time which was fine by me because I didn't want to stay around where there was too many things to remind me of Lily, James and Sirius. So not many people know I'm still an Auror, only the other Aurors, Remus, Dumbledore and the Weasley's, oh and Dung. I suppose it doesn't matter now Sirius has been cleared though."  
  
"So you trained to be an Auror as soon as you left Hogwarts?" Harry asked. Talitha nodded.  
  
"Remus trained to be an Auror as well, at the same time as me. But then Crouch found out about him being a werewolf and wouldn't let him work. Until Dumbledore took him on here a few years back he didn't really have a job. He helped me out sometimes, luckily he's got his parents house so he always had somewhere to live and I always made sure he was alright for money"  
  
"What about my dad?"  
  
"When your dad left Hogwarts he was taken on by the Hinckley Harriers"  
  
"He played Quidditch?"   
  
"Yes. Unfortunately after about a year he got an injury to his arm that couldn't be mended properly so he had to give up playing professionally before he ever really made it. After that he used most of his time doing stuff for the 'Order'. His arm wasn't badly damaged but it wasn't strong enough to play Quidditch. Your mum was a healer and a good one as well. Which was fortunate with all the injuries we seemed to get from our jobs and doing stuff for the 'Order'. Sirius was a Hit Wizard with the Magical Law Enforcement Squad so he was always going to your mum to get patched up"  
  
Harry remembered Fudge saying in the Three Broomsticks just after Sirius had escaped Azkaban that it was a squad of Hit Wizards that were sent to catch Sirius and that no one else would have stood a chance. Now he knew why.  
  
"Do you think he'll go back to doing that now?" Harry asked  
  
"I don't know if he would want to work for the Ministry after how they treated him and I don't know if they would want him but he did love the danger and excitement of his jobs so who knows"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry reached the common room to find that Ron and Hermione had already gone down to dinner but Ginny was waiting for him. He told her about going to live with Sirius and Talitha and she kissed him.   
  
"I'm so happy for you" she told him.  
  
"Come on" Harry said, slightly embarrassed at being kissed in front of some of the other students. He enjoyed it though. "I'm starving" He grabbed Ginny's hand and they walked down to dinner together.  
  
"Harry, have you noticed Ron and Hermione have been spending a lot of time together?" Ginny asked him as they walked through the castle. Harry smiled.  
  
"I have" he replied "I thought it was because I was spending so much time with Talitha and Sirius to start with. And then I thought it was because they were leaving us alone. But I've noticed now that they go off together all of the time. I think there might be something going on between them"  
  
"I know, the only times I've seen Ron without Hermione recently is at Quidditch practice and she even came to watch them a couple of times"  
  
They had reached the Great Hall by now and as they looked at the Gryffindor table, Ron and Hermione were sitting there together, much closer than you would normally sit next to someone. Ginny giggled  
  
"How long do you think it'll be before they tell us?" she laughed.  
  
"Well it's taken them at least two years to do anything about it so I think we might be in for a long wait" Harry replied. They walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from Ron and Hermione.  
  
Harry watched as Snape entered the hall and went straight over to where Talitha was talking to Charlie. Suddenly they all looked round at the Gryffindor table. Talitha's eyes darted from Ginny and Harry to Ron and Hermione and then over to Neville who was sitting a few seats down from Ron. She then looked over at the Slytherin table and her eyes scanned along the students sitting there. She spoke to Charlie and Snape. Charlie turned and walked quickly along the hall to where Harry was sitting. Harry didn't notice him as he watched Talitha and Snape almost run over to the Slytherin table.  
  
"You five, Talitha said you're all to go straight up to the Gryffindor common room and stay there till one of us comes to fetch you" Charlie told them, hurriedly.  
  
"But we haven't had dinner yet" Ron protested.  
  
"Just go" Charlie insisted "This is far more important than dinner" The five students all glanced at each other and stood up to leave.  
  
"And can you change the password for the portrait as soon as you get there Hermione and don't tell anyone what it is" Charlie added.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N Ha Ha another cliffie!. More later today 


	25. Chapter 25

On reaching the Slytherin table Snape asked if anyone had seen Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin students responded with lots of head shaking.  
  
"Follow me" Snape said to Talitha. They walked quickly to the door where Charlie caught up with them. With Snape leading the way they ran through the Castle down into the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was located. It was empty when they arrived, most of the students being at dinner. Snape headed down a small tunnel and stopped outside one of the doors. He opened it and went inside. Draco was lying on his bed struggling to breathe.  
  
"Aspirare" Talitha yelled pointing her wand at him. Draco took a large gulp of breathe and then his breathing settled. Talitha ran over to him.  
  
"Draco, who did this to you?"  
  
"Don't know" Draco said weakly "I didn't really see. A man, very short hair, tall"  
  
Talitha turned back to Snape and Charlie   
  
"We need to get him to the Hospital wing. Severus can you go and tell Dumbledore what has happened" she told them  
  
Snape nodded and left. Charlie picked Draco up of the bed and set of for the hospital wing. Talitha walked with him opening the doors as they went.  
  
"Poppy" She called as they entered the hospital. Madam Pomfrey appeared. Charlie lay Draco down on the nearest bed  
  
"Astrangulare curse" Talitha told her. Madam Pomfrey had a quick check over Draco and then disappeared to fetch some potion or other. By the time she returned Snape had arrived after seeing Dumbledore.  
  
"He's sent word to the others" Snape told Talitha and Charlie "He's suggests we all go to your office Talitha and stay there until we find out more." They both nodded. Talitha stood thinking for a moment.  
  
"Charlie, fetch the kids and I'll see you down there"  
  
"I'll stay with Draco and bring him down as soon as I can" Severus added. Talitha and Charlie both left. At the end of the corridor they went their separate ways, Charlie to Gryffindor tower and Talitha to her office.  
  
Remus and Sirius were already there when she arrived. They all went inside.  
  
"What's going on?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I'll explain when everyone's here" Talitha replied. "How did you know to come here?"  
  
"Dumbledore, he sent a message to us at the three broomsticks. Asked us to come up here and sent Dung with a message to the Weasley's"  
  
A few minutes later Charlie arrived with the five students and were shortly followed by Snape and Draco, who was now looking very pale and weak.  
  
"Now are you going to tell us?" Remus asked once everyone had settled themselves.  
  
"One minute" Talitha replied, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the door.  
  
"Claudo" she said and sealed the door. She turned to face everyone.  
  
"Some Death Eaters have been seen in Hogsmeade" She told them "Severus took a message from Alastor Moody a short while ago. When we couldn't find Draco, we went up to his dorm and found him choking. Someone had put the Astrangulare curse on him. I think they were trying to make it look accidental. Fortunately we got there in time and stopped it. As yet we don't know who, but it seems likely that one of the Death Eaters got in the Castle. Moody and the other Aurors are now searching the grounds, the castle and Hogsmeade"   
  
"How did someone get in?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I'll be honest, I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is if Wormtail has passed on his knowledge of animagi"   
  
"Professor Dumbledore has suggested we all stay here until everywhere has been searched" Snape added  
  
"We don't know if this person was particularly after Draco or if they might make an attempt to get someone else"  
  
They all spent the rest of the night in Talitha's office. Dobby the house-elf arrived with some food although nobody ate much. Draco drifted in and out of sleep due to his weakened condition but nobody else slept at all.  
  
Professor Dumbledore arrived in the early hours of the morning, and informed them that the Aurors had searched every where and had found no-one. As they were all getting up to leave Talitha gave the students strict instructions that they were not to go anywhere on their own and they were to stay in the Castle at night time. The five Gryffindor students went back to their dorms where they were all asleep within minutes. Snape took Draco back to the Hospital wing.  
  
"So who do you think it was?" Remus asked once they had all gone.  
  
"I don't know but Draco's description, although it was vague, sounded just like either Rodolphus or Rabastan Lestrange" 


	26. Chapter 26

Draco made a full recovery and was up and back in class by the next week. The six students were getting frustrated with the restrictions that ha been put on them but knowing it was for there own good they stuck to them. The Gryffindor students and Draco weren't exactly friends now but they were all making an effort to at least be civil to each other. Draco stopped calling Hermione a 'mudblood' and Harry and Ron stopped hexing him for no reason. Snape noticed that his potions lessons were very quiet.  
  
Just before Easter, Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione were sitting at breakfast when they heard a familiar voice behind them  
  
"Alrigh' you lot" said Hagrid.  
  
"Hagrid! Your back" Hermione smiled. They all stood up and greeted him.  
  
"Can't stop an' chat. Gotta find Dumbledore but come an' down an' fill me in on the news after lessons" He told them.  
  
AS soon as Potions had finished they raced down to Hagrids hut. Harry told him all about Talitha (which he already knew) and Sirius (which he knew as well). Hagrid was surprised when Ron told him about Draco.  
  
"Well I never would 'ave thought that" he chuckled.   
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Harry spent the Easter holidays at Remus' house with Sirius and Talitha as they still as yet had to find a house.  
  
On returning to school Harry, Ron and Ginny put all of there efforts into Quidditch practice in preparation for their final match against Slytherin. This was usually the biggest match of the year for them however this time there wasn't quite so much rivalry between Harry and Draco.  
  
The morning of the match arrived, both teams needed a win to get the house cup. As Ron led the Gryffindor team out onto the pitch he caught Draco's eyes. Although there wasn't quite a smile between them they both knew that they had accepted each other.  
  
The match started, Ginny almost scoring another early goal, forcing a hard save from the Slytherin keeper.   
  
By the time Harry saw the snitch the score was 90 points to Gryffindor 80 points to Slytherin. Draco was on the other side of the pitch but he saw the snitch at the same time. Both of the seekers chased after the snitch. Harry ducked a bludger as he dived towards the ground where the snitch was hovering. They were both concentrating hard on the snitch unaware of what was going on around them.  
  
"Harry! watch out!" Ginny yelled. Harry just heard her but didn't have enough time to react. Harry and Draco flew full force into each other. Harry fell off of his broom and fell in a heap on the floor. Luckily he hadn't been too high up and it was only a short fall. Unluckily, Draco also came off his broom and landed on top of Harry. Even more unluckily, Ron, unaware of the two seekers, was trying to get the Quaffle. Somehow he managed to get between the two seekers just as they collided. He had also fallen off and had landed on top of Draco. Charlie flew over and managed to untangle them.  
  
Harry tried to get up but his leg hurt too much. He fell back down to the ground and felt more pain in his ribs. Draco was still lying on the floor groaning and holding his head. Ron was sitting up holding his arm.  
  
Harry looked up as Talitha arrived. She knelt down next to him as he lay on the floor. He grinned up at her.  
  
"What are you smiling at?" she asked "It looks like you've got a broken leg that leg"  
  
"I got the snitch" Harry said and started laughing. Talitha shook her head and laughed as well.  
  
"You're just too much like your dad" she told him.  
  
Somehow, Talitha and Charlie with the help of Ginny and Hermione, managed to get Harry, Ron and Draco up to the Hospital wing. Harry and Draco were arguing about who's fault it was that they had hit each other.  
  
"Not you two again" Madam Pomfrey said with a smile looking at Harry and Draco. Draco climbed onto one bed while Charlie lowered Harry on to the one next to him. Ron sat on another. Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Harry with a broken leg and ribs, Ron with a broken arm and Draco with mild concussion due to landing on his head. She told them they would all be staying where they were for the night. Ginny went up to the dorm and brought Harry and Ron their pajamas.  
  
After everyone had left, Harry struggled to put his pajamas on and found the invisibility cloak wrapped up inside the bottoms where he had put it to keep it safe. He tucked it under the pillow and got back into bed.  
  
Later in the evening Draco and Ron were both asleep and Harry decided to have a nap as well. He was jolted awake by his scar hurting. He made an odd grunting noise.  
  
"What's up with you, Potter?" Draco muttered sleepily. Ron continued snoring.  
  
"Nothing" Harry answered "Ribs hurt" He actually realized at this point that his ribs actually no longer hurt, neither did his leg. Both boys fell back to sleep.  
  
Harry started dreaming. He was in an old house, walking through the rooms. It was familiar to him but he wasn't quite sure where the house was. He woke again and he could hear voices at the other end of the hospital wing. It was Talitha and Dumbledore. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying but he thought he heard 'Peter' and 'escaped'. Thinking nothing of it in his sleepy state, he drifted back to sleep. The same dream continued, the same house, the same rooms. Suddenly he realized where he was. His grandparents house in Godric's Hollow. Just as suddenly his scar pained again, waking him up. It was much worse this time and it made him shout out. He sat up and started rubbing it but the pain continued. It took a while to ease of and then Harry looked round to find Draco and Ron watching him.  
  
"My scar" Harry said "It hurts." Ron looked worried "I get pain in it when Voldemort is up to something" Harry explained to Draco.  
  
Draco nodded, unsure of what to say.  
  
"Wormtail!" Harry said suddenly  
  
"What about him?" Ron asked cautiously. Harry explained about his dream and what he had heard Dumbledore telling Talitha.  
  
"I know where he is" Harry said as he climbed out of bed and started to get dressed "I've got to find him" Harry half expected Hermione to pop up and ask him if he thought it was a good idea and shouldn't he just tell Dumbledore but when he looked at Draco and Ron he realized that they were getting dressed as well.  
  
"How do we get there?" Draco asked  
  
Harry sat back down on the bed  
  
"I don't know" he replied "Think, Think"  
  
"What about going by floo from Talitha's office?" Ron suggested.  
  
"We'd never get in there. She's got loads of charms and stuff on the door so no one can get in. She's worse than Moody sometimes. But that does give me an idea." Harry grabbed the invisibility cloak from under the pillow and threw it over the three of them. They crept out of the hospital wing and down the corridor. Harry made his way to the third-floor corridor with Draco and Ron following him. Harry wished they had the Marauders map with them as well. He stopped at the statue of the one-eyed witch. He tapped on the statue with his wand.  
  
"Dissendium" he muttered.  
  
They all slipped inside. Harry pulled of the cloak and tucked it inside his robes. They ran along the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel they climbed the steps, Harry opened the trap door to Honeydukes and they all climbed up. They glanced around the cellar and then the shop.  
  
"No fire place" Draco said. Harry covered them all in the cloak again.  
  
"Come on. Plan B" he whispered. They managed to get out of the shop and into the street. Still under the cloak they made there way across to Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes. Ron forced the door open and they slipped inside.  
  
"Sorry Fred and George" Harry thought out loud. He grabbed the floo powder and passed some to Draco and Ron. They all stood in the fire place and threw the floo powder as they said their destination.  
  
They tumbled out of the fire place at the Potter's house, all grabbing for their wands as they did. After a quick looked around the room they realized no one was there. They crept out into the hall. Harry looked around. He glanced at the stairs and then at the cellar door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N ~ Where should Draco go and live now? I haven't decided yet. Please tell me what you think either in a review or email me padfoot79@hotmail.com 


	27. Chapter 27

Before Harry could decide, they heard a noise from one of the rooms off of the hall. Silently they crept down the hall and stopped outside the door that Harry remembered leading to the kitchen. Harry took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and he could hear Ron and Draco doing the same next to him.  
  
Harry lifted his wand and blasted the door open.  
  
In the kitchen three men sat around the table. Wormtail, Draco's father and another man who Harry didn't recognize. The men jumped around in surprise.  
  
"That's a shame" Harry said with a sarcastic laugh "It looks like we're too late for dinner"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Remus and Sirius had spent the evening in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Sirius was fully enjoying being free again and fully enjoying the effects that Firewhiskey had on him. They were walking through Hogsmeade on their way to the Hogshead. Remus was staggering slightly and kicking an old tin can along the floor. Sirius walked along next to him singing.  
  
"I loooove yooou babeeee. La la la la la"  
  
"Shut up Padfoot" Remus laughed "You sound like a deranged banshee"  
  
"Right, You've had it now Moony" Sirius replied in a tone of mock-threat. Remus took a sideways glance at him, grinned and started running down the street, Sirius set off after him and soon caught up. He grabbed Remus by the waist, in something vaguely resembling a rugby tackle, and before they knew it they were both in a heap on the floor in the middle of the street, laughing. Sirius was on top of Remus playfully punching him, Remus was struggling underneath desperately trying to kick him back. Remus noticed something unusual out of the corner of his eye and stopped fighting. Sirius took no notice and carried on.  
  
"Isn't that the Weasley twins shop?" Remus asked Sirius. Sirius glanced in the direction Remus was pointing, still punching him.  
  
"I think so, why?"  
  
"The door, it's been forced open" Remus told him. Sirius stopped and looked at the shop properly. He climbed off of Remus and pulled him up from the ground. They crossed over the street and peered in the window of Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes. They couldn't see anyone in there. Sirius opened the door and they went inside. They both looked around for any signs as to why the door had been forced.  
  
"Harry" Sirius said suddenly  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look" Sirius held up the invisibility cloak. "It was next to the fireplace"  
  
Remus looked puzzled.  
  
"Only one thing for it then" He said as he took some floo powder. Sirius did the same.  
  
"Re-floo to last destination"   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Talitha had gone up to the hospital wing to see how Harry was doing only to find him not there. Ron and Draco's beds were empty as well. She pulled a small mirror out of her robes  
  
"Sirius" she said "Sirius"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"H..Harry" Wormtail stuttered "What… How?"  
  
"Shut it!" Harry yelled.  
  
"Draco…son" Lucius Malfoy started. The three boys looked round as the third man started to speak. Draco interrupted him.  
  
"You! It was you! You tried to kill me!" He shouted at the third Death Eater. Draco glared at his father.  
  
"How dare you call me your son when you are sitting here with a man who did that to me!" Lucius started to stand his wand in his hand hidden below the table.  
  
"Stupefy" Ron shouted as he stunned Malfoy. Lucius fell back into the chair.  
  
The third Death Eater had managed lifted his wand without being seen. He shot a curse at them which hit Ron and knocked him to the floor. Ron lay on the floor groaning. Before Harry or Draco could do anything, he had lifted his wand again.  
  
"Crucio" He growled. Ron yelled out in pain.  
  
"Impedimenta" Harry pointed his wand at the Death Eater.  
  
"Expellairmus" Draco shouted seconds later and disarmed him.  
  
"Stupefy" Ron managed to say from the floor and stunned him as well, the Death Eater fell to the floor next to Ron.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius and Remus arrived in the living room of the Potter's house.  
  
"What's Harry come here for" Remus whispered. Sirius shrugged as he felt something buzzing in his pocket. He took out a small mirror and looked at it. Talitha's face appeared in it.  
  
"Harry's gone" she said urgently.  
  
"We're at the house in Godric's Hollow. We think he's here" Sirius said quietly. "We found the invisibility cloak"  
  
"I'll be there in a few minutes" Talitha replied and then disappeared from the mirror.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry turned to Wormtail, who was now shaking. Harry laughed at him.  
  
"Not so brave now your friends can't help you" He taunted.  
  
"Please" Wormtail begged "I'll, I'll…  
  
"Nobody asked you to speak" Harry roared. Harry was stalling for time now as he hadn't actually planned this far ahead. 'We could do with Hermione being here, she'd have an idea' Harry thought.  
  
"You alright Ron" He asked. Ron nodded. Draco held out his hand which Ron took and pulled himself up.  
  
"That bloody hurt" he muttered. Harry looked back to Wormtail whose eyes had suddenly widened in shock as he looked over Harry's shoulder towards the door.  
  
Harry turned slowly half expecting to see Voldemort standing there. He was immensely relieved to see Sirius and Remus standing in the door way.  
  
"I think we need to have a little chat Wormtail" Sirius said.  
  
Wormtail had started to move around the table towards another door. Quickly he turned and ran up the stairs behind the door. Sirius went after him before anyone else had time to react.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius ran up the stairs two at a time.  
  
"Get down here!" He was shouting as he did. At the top of the stairs he saw Wormtail disappear into one of the rooms. Sirius crashed through the door firing stunning charms.  
  
"Are you purposely doing this to annoy me" he yelled as he looked around the room, James' old bedroom. His Quidditch posters still on the wall and one of his old brooms lay on the bed.  
  
"Sirius… Padfoot" Wormtail was trying to talk his way out of the situation. Sirius walked up to him and looked him directly in the eye. Forgetting about the wand in his left hand Sirius raised his right arm and his fist connected with Wormtail's face.  
  
"Don't speak to me! Get out of this room!" Sirius continued yelling. He grabbed Wormtail's robes and forcefully threw him out of the room. He then grabbed hold of him again and threw him down the stairs.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry could hear Sirius shouting and a flash of light lit up the door way. The there was more shouting and banging. Wormtail came tumbling down the stairs and landed in a heap on the floor. Sirius came down the stairs and pointed his wand at him. The red spark of a stunning spell hit Wormtail. Sirius shoved him into a chair. Another flash of light and Remus hit him with an anti-disapperating charm.   
  
"You've been busy" Talitha smirked from the doorway, no one had heard her arrive. She shot a light out of her wand which hit Wormtail.  
  
"Anti-transformation charm, found it yesterday, especially for this purpose" She told the others. Harry felt partly relieved that now there was no way Wormtail could get away again. Talitha glanced from Wormtail to Malfoy and then turned to look at the man on the floor who was just coming round from Ron's stunning spell.  
  
"Rodolphus Lestrange. I knew it" she said "Well, it's time I reunited you with Bellatrix" a flash of green light and Rodolphus was hit by Avada kedavra. All eyes turned to Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"It's your call Draco" Remus said. Talitha looked at Draco. He took a deep breath and nodded slowly.  
  
Talitha turned back to Lucius Malfoy. He had started to come round from Ron's stunning spell. Nobody realized he still had his wand in his hand.  
  
"Expellairmus" Lucius shouted suddenly and all of the other wands flew in the air  
  
"Accio wands" Lucius added and they all flew to him.  
  
"Aduro" He said as he pointed at the wands. The wands fell to the table. Harry glanced around at the three adults standing in the doorway wondering why none of them made a move to retrieve their wands. He leant forwards towards the table to grab his.  
  
"NO! Harry! Don't touch them" Remus shouted. It was too late though. Harry's hand touched his wand just as Remus started shouting. Harry yelled out as he felt an immense pain shoot through his hand and up his arm. He looked at his hand which was glowing red and he could feel a burning pain in it, as if he had just put his hand in a fire. He let go of the wand quickly. His hand was still burning, feeling as if it was getting hotter and hotter.  
  
"Very clever Malfoy but you forget who you're dealing with" Talitha said calmly. Harry didn't think this was a time to be acting calmly. A Death Eater had his wand pointed at them and they had no way of defending their selves. And his hand hurt, a lot. Lucius Malfoy stared at Talitha as if he was trying to work out what she meant and then suddenly the penny must have dropped as his eyes widened.  
  
"Stupefy" Talitha held her hand up at Malfoy, her palm facing him and a faint red light shot out and hit him. He fell over stunned. Talitha pointed her hand at Harry's hand and arm  
  
"Tepesco" she said, the counter curse. Harry felt his hand cool down. Talitha did the same counter curse on the wands and then picked them all up. She handed each one back to its owner. Remus took hold of Harry's arm and pointed his wand  
  
"Medicor" Harry felt the pain go as suddenly as it had arrived.  
  
"He put a burning charm on the wands so that we couldn't use them" Sirius was explaining as all this was happening.  
  
"How did you…" Ron was stuttering "Do that without your wand?"  
  
"Something I picked up" Talitha explained "If you concentrate very hard and you know how to, you can control your magic without a wand. Not many people can manage it though. Unfortunately the magic tends to be a lot weaker doing it this way so I expect that stunning spell will be wearing off soon. It's quite handy though if you get disarmed"  
  
Lucius Malfoy began to stir as Talitha finished speaking. They were all busy checking out Harry's arm that they didn't see Malfoy crawl along the floor making his way towards the door. Suddenly he pulled himself up and with an evil laugh ran out of the door. Sirius was the first to go after him, followed immediately by Talitha and Remus. They ran out of the house and into the street. By the time Harry, Ron and Draco got outside they could just see them go round the corner.  
  
"Go back and keep a watch on Wormtail" Remus yelled back at them.   
  
"I'll stay" said Ron. Harry and Draco nodded  
  
"Just keep him stunned and don't take your eyes off of him" Harry said as he and Draco turned and ran off after Malfoy.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ron walked back into the kitchen expecting to find Wormtail still stunned but although still a bit woozy he was up on his feet and had his wand in his hand.  
  
"Stupefy" Ron yelled but Wormtail ducked and it missed. Wormtail returned a disarming charm but Ron was quicker.  
  
"Protego" he yelled, protecting himself with an invisible shield.  
  
"Impedimenta" Ron tried again and this time hit Wormtail. Wormtail recovered before Ron got anther spell in.  
  
"Expellairmus" Wormtail shouted. This time Ron couldn't react quick enough to shield himself and his wand flew through the air. Ron made a spectacular leap and caught it out of the air.  
  
"Ha! Not Gryffindor Keeper for nothing" He laughed at Wormtail. Worm tail slipped out of the door and back up the stairs, Ron followed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius raced down the street. He could hear the feet of Remus and Talitha running behind him. He felt alive, just like he was twenty years old again, working as a Hit wizard. This was the part of the job he had loved so much. The excitement of the chase had always given him a buzz. He was firing stunning spells at Malfoy as he chased him. Red sparks were flying out of Sirius' wand so fast they were blurring together making them look like a constant stream of light.   
  
"Where's he gone?" Talitha yelled when Malfoy was no longer in her sight.  
  
"I can still see him" Sirius shouted back. They continued running through the village. Sparks flying, Talitha and Remus adding to those coming from Sirius. Talitha was shooting out anti-disapperating charms after Malfoy but she couldn't tell if they had hit him.  
  
'They must have done' she thought to herself 'otherwise he would have gone by now.'  
  
Sirius' mind was alert, concentrating on Malfoy, making sure they didn't loose him. 'As long as he doesn't apparate we'll get him' he thought to himself.  
  
Talitha was thinking as well. She was trying to think ahead and work out where Malfoy might be trying to get to, trying to think of a way they could catch him out. They were catching up with him, he was getting closer and closer. Remus was ahead of the chase now, being a werewolf had its advantages, he was a fast runner.   
  
Remus jumped suddenly, over a flash of green light that shot across the street in front of him, he cleared it and carried on running. Sirius looked round at where it had come from. A man standing at the side of the round 'Rebastan Lestrange' he thought to himself 'I knew you'd be here somewhere'. Sirius shot a stunning spell back at him but didn't stop to see if it was on target. Talitha followed it up with an anti-disapperating charm. She heard the sound of running footsteps behind her and glanced round to see Harry and Draco.  
  
"You two get this one" She yelled at them and carried on running after Malfoy.  
  
"Impedimenta" Harry and Draco both shouted at the same time. Rebastan Lestrange was blasted into the air. As he landed on the floor he shot a stunning spell at them.  
  
"Protego" they yelled together again.  
  
"Expellairmus" Draco shouted. Lestrange's wand flew through the air to be caught by a grinning Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Bet you wouldn't have caught that one Potter" He laughed. Harry laughed as well.  
  
"Petrificus Totalus" Harry said and Lestrange fell stiffly to the floor. Draco stayed to watch him while Harry ran on after Lucius Malfoy.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ron raced up the stairs after Wormtail. In and out of the rooms they ran dueling. Ron was glad he didn't still have his old wand that constantly backfired on him. Wormtail fired a stunning charm at him in James' bedroom, Ron dived out of the way and the spell bounced off of one of James' Quidditch trophies and back at Wormtail. He ducked as well and it missed him. Wormtail fired another spell at Ron which hit him in the face. Ron lifted his hand to his left cheek where the spell had hit causing him pain. It was bleeding.  
  
"Now you've pissed me off" Ron yelled  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The chase for Lucius Malfoy continued. Remus still ahead, Sirius on his heels, Talitha was a few paces behind. 'He doesn't know where he's going' Talitha suddenly thought to herself. She had grown up in this village and she realized the road Malfoy had turned down was a dead end. They followed him round the corner and saw that he had stopped at the end of the road in front of a very high brick wall. Malfoy was trapped now.  
  
Talitha raised her wand and was just about to cast another anti-disapperating charm on him, just to make sure, when he disappeared.   
  
CRACK.  
  
Talitha, Sirius and Remus all looked at each other in disbelief. Sirius kicked a nearby lamp post.  
  
"NO!" Talitha yelled  
  
"Shit!" Sirius muttered  
  
They heard footsteps pounding up behind them.  
  
"Did you get him?" Harry asked as he tried to get his breath. Remus shook his head  
  
"Almost"  
  
Once they had all caught their breath back they turned and started to head back to the Potter's house.  
  
"What on earth did you think you were doing Harry?" Sirius started shouting now it was over and he realized how much danger Harry could have been in. The anger of losing Malfoy coming out as well.  
  
"I saw Wormtail in my dream and my scar was hurting" Harry tried to explain.  
  
"You could have got yourself killed back there" Sirius continued shouting "Look what damage they did when we were there. What would you have done on your own? And nobody even knew where you were. It was only by chance that we found you"   
  
"Sirius, leave him. I think he knows already" Remus tried to calm him down.  
  
"No I don't think he does" Sirius replied "How many times are you going to go off on your own and get into messes like this before something happens to make you realize." Harry remained silent, unsure of what to say.   
  
"You should have come and found me" Talitha joined in the yelling "or Snape or Charlie. We could have got someone up here. The Death Eaters aren't going to be afraid to try and kill you, Harry. I suppose you wanted to catch Wormtail yourself. Thought you were better than everyone else"  
  
"Shut up!" Harry yelled back "I don't know, alright. It was stupid. I shouldn't have done it but it seemed like a good idea at the time"  
  
"Come on guys. Let's leave it, it's too late now to say what should have happened" Remus tried lighten the mood slightly "and the Obliviators are going to have a field day if you continue shouting out here in the street. They're going to have enough to do as it is"  
  
They picked up Lestrange and Draco on the way back. Harry didn't speak as they walked along as he didn't want Talitha or Sirius to start yelling again.  
  
"Ron" he suddenly said "We left him with Wormtail" Sirius and Remus looked at each other and set of running down the road again.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius and Remus arrived back in the Potter's Kitchen to find it empty except for the dead Death Eater lying on the floor. They heard a noise upstairs and soon they were up there. They found Ron and Wormtail dueling in Talitha's old bedroom  
  
"Ultra-stupefy" Sirius yelled and Wormtail fell on the floor.  
  
"Thanks for that" Ron said with a grin. 


	28. Chapter 28

Downstairs Remus used the fireplace to call Moody who arrived promptly to collect Wormtail. Talitha, Draco and Harry arrived with Rebastan Lestrange shortly afterwards. Moody apperated with them back to Azkaban with the promise that Wormtail would be disposed of as soon as they had interrogated him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Once they got back to Hogwarts, Ron and Draco were sent back up to the hospital wing. The others remained in Talitha's office.  
  
"Harry, you've got to understand, you can't keep going off like this" Remus said, the only one of the adults calm enough to talk to him without yelling. "You know all about the prophecy, you know that you are the only one who can defeat Voldemort."  
  
"We're here to protect you" Talitha said slightly more calmly than when they were back in Godric's Hollow. "How can we do that if you keep disappearing? The Death Eaters are after you as well. How do you think I felt when I went up to the hospital and the three of you had gone?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry. I just didn't think" Harry muttered.  
  
"The Death Eaters aren't your problem" Sirius told him   
  
"It's just Wormtail…I had to…" Harry began.  
  
"We know how you feel Harry" Remus said. They all sat in silence for a minute or so.  
  
"Why do they keep going back there?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
Voldemort must think it would be an easy place to lure you to. Which it was" Sirius said  
  
"I fell for it again didn't I" Harry muttered quietly "I let him control my thoughts. I didn't fight it. It was the first time I had the dream and if I hadn't overheard that Wormtail had escaped I wouldn't have even taken any notice of it"  
  
"But it backfired on him this time" Talitha said "He wasn't expecting you to act on it so quickly. Last time it took months of dreams before he got you in the department of mysteries. He and the Death Eaters weren't ready"  
  
"He didn't want you to know they were there" Sirius continued "He must have thought that by making you dream of the house, you would want to go and see it. He was relying on your inquisitive nature. He never expected you to arrive knowing that the Death Eaters were there."  
  
"He was probably planning to be there as well" Remus added  
  
"Harry, you're one step ahead of him now. You are prepared for him to do things like this" Talitha continued "You just have to be careful. If anything like this happens again you must tell someone and not go on your own. You aren't ready to take him on yet. Yes you are powerful but you have so much more to learn before you can defeat him and it's up to us to protect you until then."  
  
Harry nodded to show he understood. Talitha went over to him and put her arm round his shoulder  
  
"I've lost every other member of my family because of Voldemort. I'm not losing you as well" she told him.  
  
"What do you mean every other member of your family?" Harry asked.  
  
"My parents were among the first to die at the hands of the Death Eaters. Well it was my mum they were after, marrying a muggle, dad just got in the way I think. In fact I don't think they'd even started calling themselves Death Eaters at that time. Then your grandparents were killed a few years before James and Lily. He's not having anymore Potters, not if I've got anything to do with it"  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius took Harry back up to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey looked at his arm. She gave him some ointment to put on it and pointed back to his bed.  
  
"Promise me you want go of doing anything stupid again" Sirius said to him. Harry grinned back at him.  
  
"It's not my fault" he said "I must take after my dad"  
  
Sirius laughed and ruffled Harry's hair  
  
"Go on" he said "Get to bed"  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry woke the next morning to find Ginny and Hermione staring at him. He fumbled for his glasses and put them on.  
  
"Harry, what were you thinking" Hermione said. Ron had already filled them in on the previous night's events.  
  
"Anything could have happened to you" Ginny added as she sat down on the side of his bed. Harry reached over and hugged her. He could see how worried she was.  
  
"I know. I want be doing anything like that again" He told her  
  
"Yeah right" Ron laughed from his bed across the room. Draco snorted but didn't say anything.  
  
"Anyway, what sort of greeting was that for the hero of the day" Harry asked trying to put on a disappointed look.  
  
"Hey" Draco interrupted "Hero's if you don't mind. We were all there"  
  
"Yeah and I took one on single handed" Ron added  
  
"Ok" said Hermione with a smile "Well done you three for almost getting yourselves killed"  
  
Ginny laughed and Harry shoved her playfully.  
  
"You two are just jealous because you didn't get to come with us" Ron teased  
  
Madam Pomfrey came in and told them that they could all go.  
  
"Come on we'll still make breakfast if we're quick" Ron told them as he jumped out of bed. As he did so he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror  
  
"Hey cool" He said looking at his cheek "That's gonna make a brilliant scar. I can imagine it now. 'Hey Ron where did you get that scar' 'oh fighting Death Eaters' Excellent"  
  
Hermione was looking at him somewhat in confusion at his ramblings  
  
"It's ok I think he took a blow to the head" Harry grinned at her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
They reached the great hall and Draco went over and sat at the Slytherin table whilst the others walked over to the Gryffindor table. No one seemed to know about what had happened the night before much to Ron's disappointment.  
  
"I'm sure everyone will know soon" Hermione reassured him as he sat at the table trying to attract attention to the gash across his face.  
  
Hagrid waved to them from the staff table and Talitha and Charlie walked down to see them. Charlie sat down next to Ron and picked up a piece of toast.   
  
"How are you this morning?" Talitha asked Harry and Ron. They both nodded as their mouths were full of breakfast.  
  
"Grea'Igottawarwoun'" Ron mumbled, spitting out bits of sausage as he did. Hermione glared at him in a way Ron had only seen his mum look. "'orry" he added  
  
"Let's have a look then" he said and grabbed Ron's face turning it so he could see the cut. "Fred and George are going to be so jealous" Charlie said laughing "As long as mum doesn't kill you first"  
  
"And Harry's promised he's not going to do any more stupid stuff" Ginny said.  
  
"Well, he wouldn't be a Potter if he didn't do stupid stuff" Talitha laughed "Just as long as it's not dangerous stupid stuff"  
  
"It's a deal" They shook hands to seal the deal  
  
"Can you come up to my office after you've finished here, Harry. I need to talk to you about some stuff"  
  
"OK"  
  
Talitha grinned at them all and walked off. On her way out she stopped at the Slytherin table and spoke to Draco.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
When Harry arrived at Talitha's office, Sirius was there waiting as well. Harry smiled at him cautiously, not sure if Sirius was still going to be mad at him. Harry was relieved when Sirius grinned at him.  
  
"I expect the whole school is talking about Harry Potter the hero by now" Sirius laughed.   
  
"No they're talking about how much of an idiot Ron looks with that great big cut on his face" Harry told him, laughing as well. Harry sprawled out in a large armchair next to the one Sirius was sitting in. Talitha came over from where she was sitting at her desk and sat on the arm of Sirius' chair.  
  
"Right, first things first. We haven't found a house yet so when school finishes we're going back to Moony's until we do" Sirius told him. Harry grinned . He liked Moony's house.  
  
"Ok the next thing might be a bit more difficult" Talitha said. She paused while she tried to decide how to say what she wanted to.  
  
"You know that Draco isn't going back to Malfoy Manor" She started. Harry nodded "How would you feel if we asked him to come and stay with us?" she continued. Harry remained silent not sure of what he thought. His initial reaction was, 'Live with Malfoy no way' but then he thought, 'well actually he's not that bad and he hasn't got any where else to go'  
  
"It's entirely up to you Harry. We'll go with whatever you say. It's going to be your home as much as ours. It's just well I am related to him so I feel partly responsible, even though I always hated Narcissa" Sirius continued.  
  
"And you will have to share a room with him at Moony's" Talitha added. Harry thought hard for a few minutes.  
  
"I guess we could give it a try" he said. He was mature enough to put up with Malfoy and it would only be for the holidays. He could just imagine what Ron was going to say though.  
  
"You're sure?" Sirius said. Harry nodded again.  
  
"Good. Now the last thing is that we are going to get married in the summer once we've sorted a house out"  
  
Harry grinned, that was the best news he'd heard in ages  
  
"Moony's going to be my best man" Sirius said proudly. Harry's smile dropped slightly when he heard this.  
  
"We've got a better job for you" Talitha said as she noticed Harry's reaction "As the last remaining Potter it's you're job to give me away". Harry's face lit up again  
  
"And we're going to ask Ginny and Hermione to be bridesmaids.  
  
"And Tonks" Sirius added  
  
"Oh yeah and Tonks as long as she can walk down the aisle without falling over" Talitha laughed.   
  
There was a small tap on the door and Draco's head appeared around it. Talitha beckoned him in. He walked across to where they all were and leaned on the back of Harry's chair.  
  
"Good news Draco we think we've found you somewhere to live for the summer" Talitha said as she smiled at him. Draco looked up in anticipation.  
  
"We want you to come and live with us" Sirius said "Harry's agreed as well"  
  
Talitha went onto explain everything before Draco made his mind  
  
Draco looked puzzled for a few seconds and then laughed.  
  
"If anyone had told me this time last year that I would be going to live with Potter, an escaped convict and a werewolf I would have hexed them"  
  
"I take it that means you agree" Talitha asked, laughing with him  
  
"And it's cleared, back from the dead, escaped convict" Sirius said proudly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N ~ Haha! The possibilities for my next story with Harry and Draco living in the same house and sharing a bedroom!!!! *evil grin* 


	29. Chapter 29

Harry waved goodbye to Ron, Ginny and Hermione as they got on the Hogwarts express. As the train went out of sight around the corner Harry turned and headed back up to the Castle. He wasn't going back on the train this year. He would be leaving by floo once Talitha was ready. He wandered slowly back looking around as he had done so, taking advantage of Hogwarts being almost silent. Lost in his own thoughts he chuckled to himself. 'Well at least I didn't have to fight Voldemort this year.'  
  
Eventually Harry reached Talitha's office  
  
"You all packed then" He asked her as he walked in the room.  
  
"Not really" Talitha muttered as she glanced round the room "Well not at all actually" she laughed. She searched round for a minute and found her wand. She waved it around the room and everything jumped into the air and landed neatly in a trunk. Harry eyed it suspiciously thinking that it must have some sort of charm on it to fit all that stuff in. Harry noticed that his and Draco's trunks were also there next to Talitha's.  
  
"Right are we ready then?" Talitha asked.  
  
"Where's Malfoy?" Harry asked nodding towards the trunks.  
  
"Sirius has taken him to fetch his stuff from Malfoy Manor" She grinned at Harry "I would have loved to see the reunion between Sirius and Narcissa"  
  
She handed Harry some floo powder  
  
"Ok ready" she said as she grabbed hers and Draco's trunks. Harry took hold of his own as Talitha disappeared into the fireplace. Harry followed.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius arrived outside Malfoy Manor. He was not looking forward to this. He was glad Remus had offered to come along as well. Sirius glanced up at the large house just as Remus appeared next to him holding onto Draco. Together they all walked up to the front door. Remus rang the door bell as Sirius put his hand reassuringly on Draco's shoulder.  
  
Slowly the door opened.  
  
"Narcissa" Sirius said soberly.  
  
Remus watched as Draco's mother looked from Sirius to Draco, he couldn't decide on which one she hated the most. Narcissa didn't speak but opened the door wider allowing them to enter the house. They all stood in the hall. Narcissa glared at them.  
  
"You know why we're here" Sirius told her "We've just come to get Draco's things and then we'll be gone." Narcissa continued staring at him.  
  
"I'll help you pack" Remus said quietly to Draco and they set of up the stairs. They reappeared a few minutes later with a large trunk. Remus suspected that Narcissa and Sirius had remained silent, staring at each other the whole time they had gone.  
  
"That's everything" Remus told Sirius when they were back down the stairs. Sirius nodded and took hold of the trunk. Remus held onto Draco's arm and they all disapperated back to Remus'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry fell out of the fireplace at Remus' house and smiled as he looked around. Right up until now he hadn't quite believed he wouldn't be going back to the Dursleys. He sat down in one of the armchairs as Talitha used her wand to take the trunks upstairs.  
  
Crack  
  
Harry got up and went into the kitchen to see that Remus, Sirius and Draco had just arrived with another large trunk. Talitha returned to the kitchen and smiled at the four wizards in front of her.  
  
"Welcome home everyone" she smiled.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
THE END!!!  
  
A/N  
  
dragonsprincess - no *evil grin* did not mean slash. I was thinking more along the lines of them arguing and stuff  
  
I will be starting writing the sequel very soon (once I've decided on a plot). If you email me or leave a message in the reviews I'll contact you when I start posting it  
  
padfoot79@hotmail.com  
  
I'll start it very soon. I promise! I've got a few good ideas already. 


	30. the end

Thanks to everyone for reading this. I hope you enjoyed it.  
  
I have just started posting the sequel (Yey) which is called  
  
Harry Potter and the Day of Judgement  
  
Please also read   
  
Marauder Stories  
  
Thanx, Padfoot 


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